Neylon “Angry, Frustrated And Unhappy” With ICANN
Michele Neylon is not happy with ICANN. Actually, he’s “angry, frustrated and unhappy”.
The reason is, “ICANN has put us and other European Union based registrars in an utterly ridiculous situation,” Neylon wrote on his Blacknight Solutions blog.
“We are expected to ask ICANN for permission to comply with Irish and EU data privacy law.
“Or put another way, an Irish company is obliged to jump through hoops with a California based corporation in order to be able to operate within Irish law.”
It’s a situation that has been brewing for some time Neylon wrote, with discussions with ICANN happening for the last two years.
His company went from being a domain name reseller to an ICANN-accredited registrar to cut out the middleman. And now a new contract has been published, but as he notes “the new contract has issues if you’re based in the EU.”
“The central tenet of data privacy law is summed up in Article 6(e) of the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC which deals with retention of data (emphasis added):
kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data were collected
“Which under Irish law is Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003:
“Article 4 (e). preserved in a form which permits identification of the data subjects for no longer than is required for the purpose for which those data are stored”
“However ICANN explicitly demands that registrars retain the data for way longer.”
Neylon’s problem is that the period of time ICANN want the data to be held is “simply too long”.
To seek some clarification, Neylon reached out to Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, and they advised, in short, ‘without any rationale for the data being held for so long they had issues with it’.
The EU also has problems with the requirement. Neylon writes the “European Union, has written to ICANN on several occasions telling them clearly that the 2013 RAA is not compatible with EU law.
“They also made it very clear that they didn’t think it was reasonable to ask every EU based ICANN accredited registrar to jump through hoops to get an exemption to the clauses.”
And then he asks “What did ICANN do about it? Short answer – nothing.”
In his posting, Neylon finds it problematical that ICANN doesn’t understand law.
To read the post in full, see blog.blacknight.com/blow-fuse.html.
Afilias Announced the Sunrise Launch Date for .KIM new gTLD
Afilias announced yesterday the sunrise launch date for the first “family” generic top-level domain (gTLD) – .KIM.
You can read the press release after the jump:
“Global registry services provider Afilias today announced the sunrise launch date for the first “family” generic top-level domain (gTLD): .KIM.
“Afilias is a leader in top-level domain innovation. From the successful launch of the .INFO domain — the first and most popular new gTLD ever — to ‘colorful’ domains like the forthcoming .RED, .BLUE and .PINK, Afilias has been a consistent leader in bringing domains to market that meet unique, untapped needs. The .KIM domain is proof of that,” said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President and CMO, Afilias.
“Kim” is an ancient Korean surname, meaning “gold,” and is the most common Korean last name: more than 10 million individuals carry the name Kim. As a first name, Kim is used by women and men. According to U.S. Census data, over 300,000 Americans have the first name Kim (87 percent of them are female). The .KIM domain enables Kims from all over the world to proclaim themselves and their businesses as part of “the first family of the Internet.”
Today begins the 30-day minimum notice period of the Start Date sunrise for .KIM. From March 11, 2014 through April 10, 2014, .KIM domains will be awarded in a “first come, first served” manner; however, eligibility during this period is limited strictly to trademark holders whose marks are registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse.
Beginning April 11, the general availability period opens. From that point forward, everyone is eligible to register .KIM addresses.
For more information about .KIM prior to launch, please visit kim.afilias.info.”
AnimalRescue.com Domain Name Sells for $20,400 at NameJet
The domain name AnimalRescue.com was recently sold for $20,400 via NameJet.247 bidders with 282 bids were in the auction.
According to whois records, the domain name was first registered in 1997.AnimalRescue.com was had sold on NameJet for 46,899 in Aprul,2009,according to DNJournal sales report.
Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer.
ICANN : Request for Information on Contact Data Validation and Verification Systems
ICANN is publishing a Request for Information (RFI) to identify any commercially-available services and software that might be capable of validating or verifying domain name registration contact data .
This RFI is intended to inform two distinct ICANN projects that require address validation and verification. The first project relates to a near-term need for postal address cross-field validation services arising out of requirements applicable to those registrars who have signed the new 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA Project).
In addition, ICANN is seeking similar information for a separate longer term project in connection with Expert Working Group on Next Generation gTLD Directory Services (“EWG”) recommendations to identify a replacement to the current WHOIS system. The EWG is now developing recommendations for a new system that could better meet global Internet community needs for domain name registration data while offering greater privacy, accuracy, and accountability (EWG Project).
Purpose of RFI
The purpose of this RFI is purely informational – that is, to inform the development of policies and procedures that may follow both of these initiatives. As a result, potential Respondents responding to any future RFP for either the RAA Project or the EWG Project will not be bound by the estimates, prices, or other information provided in response to this RFI.
RFI Attributes
RFI Availability Date: 7 February 2014
The Requirements and Instructions are more fully described in the RFI [PDF, 395 KB]
RFI Close Date: 7 March 2014, 23:59 UTC
RFI Language: English only
Responses should be submitted via email to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ICANN greatly appreciates any insights on this topic from those commercial providers interested in sharing information about their services.
Background on the RAA Project
Registrars who are accredited under the 2013 RAA are currently required to perform limited validation of registration contact data. The agreement envisions that registrars will also perform cross-field validation of address data (e.g., the house number exists on the street, which exists in the city and province, and the postal code is correct). This cross-field validation requirement becomes effective 6 months after ICANN and a working group of registrar volunteers have agreed that cross-field validation is technically and commercially feasible.
ICANN has convened the registrar working group that is exploring address validation service options. The RFI published today intended to help inform that working group’s work.
Background on the EWG Project
In December 2012, ICANN announced the creation of an Expert Working Group (EWG) on next-generation gTLD Registration Directory Services, as a first step in fulfilling the ICANN Board’s directive to help redefine the purpose and provision of gTLD registration data. The EWG’s findings are expected to serve as a foundation to help the GNSO create a new global policy for the provision of gTLD registration data.
A significant milestone was reached on 24 June 2013 with the publication of the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services (EWG)’s Initial Report and FAQs, opening a consultation period with the ICANN community. The Initial Report [PDF, 1.70 MB] enumerated the users, purposes, data elements, recommended principles and features, and proposed model to guide the development of a next generation Registration Directory Service (RDS) to replace WHOIS.
Prior to the ICANN Meeting in Buenos Aires, the EWG published its Status Update Report [PDF, 2.26 MB] to highlight the EWG’s thinking on these and many other key issues. It also provides a great deal more detail on the analysis that lay behind the Initial Report [PDF, 1.70 MB].
The EWG is currently in its research and information gathering phase. This RFI is one of several research efforts that the EWG is currently undertaking to ensure that its final recommendations are supported by facts and informed by current practices.
The EWG expects to complete its recommendations in 2014, informed by Community feedback and in-depth analysis of selected areas, including the responses to this RFI. The EWG plans to reconvene in March 2014 to derive fact-based recommendations after carefully examining the results of its research, and expects to deliver its final report to the ICANN Board by June 2014.
This announcement was sourced from :
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-07feb14-en.htm
LinkedIn Buys Bright.com For $120 Million
LinkedIn announced its biggest acquisition deal to date. The company announced that it has acquired the jobs matching service, Bright.com for $120 million.
This is the biggest-ever acquisition LinkedIn has made so far.The deal is 73% stock and 27% cash,according to LinkedIn and the deal will be completed in the first quarter of 2014.Moreover, the company said that several members of Bright’s team will be coming over with the acquisition.However, it did not say anything about CEO Steve Goodman.
Along with the job matching company, LinkedIn also acquired a premium .COM domain name
According to whois records, the domain name was first registered in 1994 by a man who used it for a business named B-Right Trucking.Over the years, the domain name changed hands at least three times.
Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer for the deal.
