[LAC-Discuss] [LAC-ALS] FW: -- ICANN New gTLD Policy Up for Debate in Lisbon: Censorship andNational Sovereignty at Issue -
Scott S Robinson
ssr at laneta.apc.org
Wed Mar 28 10:22:46 EDT 2007
Colegas del RALO LAC,
Apoyo a la posición de Carlton en el tema de evitar toda clase de censura
de contenidos.
Scott Robinson
Vinculart, AC
México
At 08:03 a.m. 28/03/2007, Carlton A Samuels wrote:
>Dear Friends:
>I have forwarded the thread provided by our new
>ALAC Chair, Jacqueline Morris for your advice
>and hopefully, discussion towards a consensus
>from LACRALO on the several issues. Very early
>in its tenure, the Secretariat took the decision
>that it would seek to report consensus rather
>than drive it. However in the matter here below, conscience trumps duty.
>
>I wish to associate myself in the strongest
>possible terms with the position that advises
>ICANN to remain neutral on content issues, if
>only because of my own personal loathing for
>anyone other than me deciding what I may think,
>read or consume in the pursuit of
>knowledge. Furthermore, I abhor all and every
>attempt at censorship in whatever form. And
>finally, I consider the attempt to impose
>extra-national or supranational oversight in
>this venture as cynical and is rightly condemned as a form of neo-imperialism.
>
>Carlton
>
>[Spanish Version]
>
>Amigos Todos:
>He adelantado el hilo proporcionado por nuestra
>nueva Chair de ALAC, Jacqueline Morris para su
>consejo y optimistamente, la discusión hacia un
>consenso de LACRALO en los varios asuntos. Muy
>temprano en su ocupación, la Secretaría tomó la
>decisión que lo procuraría informar el consenso
>antes que lo maneja. Sin embargo en el asunto
>aquí abajo, la conciencia triunfa el deber.
>
>Deseo asociarme en los términos posibles más
>fuertes con la posición que aconseja ICANN para
>quedarse neutral en asuntos contentos, si
>solamente a causa de mi propio aborrecer
>personal para cualquiera otro que yo decidiendo
>lo que puedo pensar, poder leer o puedo consumir
>en el persecución del conocimiento. Además,
>aborrezco todo y cada tentativa en la censura en
>cualquier forma. Y finalmente, considero la
>tentativa para imponer el descuido
>extra-nacional o supranacional en esta aventura
>como cínico y es condenado correctamente como una forma del neo-imperialismo.
>
>Carlton
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>The link to the latest draft of the GNSO Committee's report is here:
><http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/pdp-dec05-draft-fr.htm>http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/pdp-dec05-draft-fr.htm
>
>The link to the NCUC proposal is here:
>
><http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/drafts/022207.html>http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/drafts/022207.html
>
>======
>
>-- ICANN New gTLD Policy Up for Debate in
>Lisbon: Censorship and National Sovereignty at Issue --
>
>22 March 2007 - As ICANN's Board Meeting
><http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/>http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/
>in Lisbon
>is about to kick-off, a number of important policy issues are on the agenda.
>
>One of the most hotly contested issues at ICANN
>is the current draft proposal regarding
>the introduction of new generic top-level
>domains (gTLDs) and its impact on free
>expression and national sovereignty.
>
>While the latest (16 March 2007) draft proposal would no longer allow a
>single country to block a new gTLD string
>application for non-technical reasons, it
>would allow any group of nations to block an
>application for a new top-level domain for
>non-technical reasons.
>
>Recommendation 6 in the draft proposal still
>reads "Strings must not be contrary to
>generally accepted legal norms relating to morality and public order."
>
>But now, instead of any 1 country being able to
>block a string on a subject it didn't
>like, any group of countries objecting to a
>string would be able to kill the application.
>
>Why would the ICANN Board want to give this kind
>of control and censorious powers to
>the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)?
>ICANN should stick to its technical mission
>and remain content-neutral in the allocation of
>new top-level domains and leave the politics out of the formulations.
>
>And the proposed gTLD policy still operates
>under the fiction that there are such
>accepted public policy and morality legal norms.
>
>The proposed gTLD policy is still a recipe for
>censorship and an attack on national
>sovereignty. Why should the restrictions in any
>one country be imposed upon the citizens
>of another country? No one has even attempted to
>provide a justification for that.
>
>ICANN's Non-Commercial User's Constituency (NCUC) proposed
><http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/drafts/022207.html>http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/drafts/022207.html
>to reform the new gTLD policy so that national
>laws will govern what speech may be permitted in a country, not ICANN policy.
>But that proposal was summarily swept aside.
>
>Former ICANN Board Member Michael Palage and
>current GNSO Council Member Avri Doria have
>published a paper
><http://ipjustice.org/ICANN/keep_core_neutral.pdf>http://ipjustice.org/ICANN/keep_core_neutral.pdf
>
>recommending that ICANN remain content-neutral
>and resist the path of censorship in the
>introduction of new gTLDs.
>
>Concerned Netizens are encouraged to contact the
>ICANN Board and their GAC Members to urge reform
>of the proposed policy. NCUC prepared a sample
>letter to ICANN Board Members
><http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/03/22/letter_board_gtld>http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/03/22/letter_board_gtld
>and a sample letter to GAC Members
><http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/03/22/letter_gac_gtlds>http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/03/22/letter_gac_gtlds
>to assist Netizens in making their voices heard.
>
>The GNSO Committee's proposal still erroneously
>equates trademark rights with rights to
>domain names. The draft proposal attempts to
>justify censorship in the new gTLD space on
>the flaky rationale that trademark law does not
>permit the registration of scandalous
>words. The Committee fails to recognize that a
>trademark is an exclusive right to
>prevent others from using a word in commerce,
>and the policy they are setting is whether
>anyone can use use a word at all in the new gTLD space. Big difference.
>
>Both the GNSO Committee on New gTLDs and the GAC
>will make policy recommendations on the issue to
>the ICANN Board. The ICANN Board will then vote on the policy recommendations.
>The ICANN Board would be smart to remain
>content-neutral and not allow ICANN's technical
>mission to become muddled down in politics by
>giving GAC any power to prevent a new string for
>non-technical reasons. Nor should ICANN give
>itself any right to prevent a string for
>non-technical reasons. Besides the fact that its censorship, it will also
>create legal liability for ICANN.
>
>But the question remains open: Can ICANN
>stand-up to the GAC and resist the urge to
>impose a policy of censorship in the new gTLD space?
>
>See related: NCUC Press Release of 2/27/7 "Power
>Grab: ICANN to Become Internet's Word
>Police"
><http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/02/27/icann-power-grab/>http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/02/27/icann-power-grab/
>
>The ICANN GAC representatives are listed here:
><http://gac.icann.org/web/contact/reps/index.shtml>http://gac.icann.org/web/contact/reps/index.shtml
>
>The ICANN Board of Directors are listed here:
><http://www.icann.org/general/board.html>http://www.icann.org/general/board.html
>--
>Jacqueline A. Morris
>www.jacquelinemorris.com
>_______________________________________________
>LAC-ALS mailing list
>LAC-ALS at atlarge-lists.icann.org
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>
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>- Release Date: 22/03/2007 07:44 a.m.
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