[NA-Discuss] A draft text (was: Re: Forward motion on the Egyptian Internet shutdown)

Elaine Pruis elaine at elaine.cx
Tue Feb 1 18:31:22 UTC 2011


ICANN did post a blog

http://blog.icann.org/2011/01/status-report-on-the-dns-in-egypt/

But
 I agree, this letter calls ICANN to fulfill its responsibility and 
mission, and the request to remind the GAC of their obligations is 
essential.

Elaine


> From: avri at ella.com
> Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 11:36:29 -0500
> To: na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> Subject: Re: [NA-Discuss] A draft text (was: Re: Forward motion on	the	Egyptian Internet shutdown)
> 
> hi,
> 
> i would personally sign this letter.
> 
> And I would be willing to present  it to the NCSG for signature/endorsement if there is an interest in turning it into a wider petition.   I think at this point that it is unlikely that the ALAC approves this letter given its Executive Committee has crafted another letter.  But that does not mean it is a dead letter.
> 
> Whether it was a signature or an endorsement would depend on the wording of the second paragraph. Of course not having presented it yet, I do not know what the response would be.
> 
> a.
> 
> 
> On 1 Feb 2011, at 11:17, Thompson, Darlene wrote:
> 
> > Both texts are good but I think I prefer this one.  I approve of the plain language wording below and a specific call to action.
> > 
> > This, of course, is just my personal opinion.
> > 
> > D
> > 
> > Darlene A. Thompson
> > CAP Administrator
> > N-CAP/Department of Education
> > P.O. Box 1000, Station 910
> > Iqaluit, NU  X0A 0H0
> > Phone:  (867) 975-5631
> > Fax:  (867) 979-5610
> > dthompson at gov.nu.ca
> > ________________________________________
> > From: na-discuss-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org [na-discuss-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org] on behalf of Marc Rotenberg [rotenberg at epic.org]
> > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:22 PM
> > To: Eric Brunner-Williams
> > Cc: na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> > Subject: Re: [NA-Discuss] A draft text (was: Re: Forward motion on the  Egyptian Internet shutdown)
> > 
> > Another possibility. Also, is there any reason this
> > could not be open for signature to all ALAC members?
> > 
> > Marc.
> > 
> > ----
> > 
> > Dear Chairman Dengate-Thrush and CEO Beckstrom,
> > 
> > We are writing to you regarding the recent developments in Egypt
> > concerning the Internet. As of this evening, the Noor Group, the
> > last ISP providing connectivity to Internet users in Egypt, has gone
> > dark.
> > 
> > As members of the At Large Advisory Advisory Committee, whose
> > mission is to provide advice on the activities of ICANN, insofar as
> > they relate to the interests of individual Internet users, we
> > believe we have an obligation to call to your attention this recent
> > development and to recommend specific actions.
> > 
> > As the Bylaws of the ICANN make clear, it is a core value that
> > guides the decisions of actions of ICANN, to preserve and enhance
> > "the operational stability, reliability, security, and global
> > interoperability of the Internet."
> > 
> > The recent actions by the Egyptian government threaten this central
> > mission of ICANN.
> > 
> > Moreover, the decision by a government to suspend the operation of a
> > communications infrastructure implicates fundamental human rights
> > set out in the Universal Declaration of Human RIghts and the
> > International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
> > 
> > It is also clear that significant economic activity is impacted by
> > the decision to sever Internet connectivity
> > 
> > We therefore urge you to:
> > 
> > (1) Communicate ICANN's concerns to the Egyptian government
> >    insofar as the government has taken steps that limit
> >    access to the Internet;
> > 
> > (2) Remind all governments, through the GAC, of the obligations
> >    to uphold the Core Values of ICANN; and,
> > 
> > (3) Begin the development of technical methods to prevent
> >    such "outages" in the future, including the deployment of
> >    secondary servers to promote continuity of service as
> >    well as DNS stability
> > 
> > We recognize that ICANN has limited competence in the policy realm
> > and also that the situation that arose in Egypt could arise
> > elsewhere.
> > 
> > Nonetheless, it is our view that central to the mission of
> > ICANN is to ensure the operational stability and reliability
> > of the Internet. When parties take steps that threaten this
> > interest, ICANN is obligated to respond.
> > 
> > Sincerely,
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Jan 31, 2011, at 7:54 PM, Eric Brunner-Williams wrote:
> > 
> >> a draft text
> >> 
> >> === Text begins ===
> >> 
> >> Dear Chairman Dengate-Thrush and CEO Beckstrom,
> >> 
> >> Concerning the Egyptian Internet shutdown, as volunteers participating
> >> in the North American At Large Regional Organization who have studied
> >> network policy, we the undersigned believe you have a chance to move
> >> beyond rhetoric to support the security and stability of the Internet.
> >> As contributors to the ICANN community, we expect our Chairperson and
> >> CEO to uphold those values.
> >> 
> >> As the IESG and the IAB observed in draft-iab-raven, published as RFC
> >> 2804, accommodating the legal intercept requirements of states in
> >> network devices would make the system less secure, increase system
> >> complexity, and the risk of unintended security failure. The
> >> considered technical judgment was, and remains, that wiretapping, even
> >> when it is not being exercised, lowers the security of the system.
> >> 
> >> We believe this concern applies also to accommodating endpoint
> >> unreachable requirements of states in systems of network devices, as
> >> well as flow filter and other disruptive technology requirements.
> >> 
> >> We are also concerned by the possibility of error by national actors
> >> attempting to interrupt regional routing. The routing alternatives to
> >> the Alexandria - Suez corridor are simply inadequate to support the
> >> requirements for Europe - Asia data communications.
> >> 
> >> In addition to these systemic concerns, the proper concern of the
> >> entity tasked with the technical coordination of unique endpoint
> >> identifiers, we have the following further concerns.
> >> 
> >> Articles 12 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
> >> pertaining to privacy and freedom of expression, appear to be the
> >> specific targets of intentional violation by the Egyptian government.
> >> This should not pass without comment.
> >> 
> >> Significant regional economic activity relies upon the availability of
> >> CityNet (Ramadan City), ECC (6 October City), EgyptNetwork
> >> (Mansura), and ECC, MEIX, LINKdotNET (Cairo) data centers. The direct
> >> economic loss due to governmental action is easy to calculate. The
> >> greater loss of the reputation and competitive ability of these data
> >> centers, and their operators is harder to calculate, and likely to be
> >> much greater than N zero revenue days.
> >> 
> >> However, the economic consequence of abruptly transforming Egypt to a
> >> sparse 56kb and VSAT connectivity regime extends far beyond the data
> >> centers and access providers. It is profoundly disruptive of the
> >> information economy, and of ordinary transaction services. It will
> >> result in diminished stability and certainty of commodity prices and
> >> availablities. It will raise the price of bread. It will cause
> >> hardship, impoverishment, increased morbidity, and mortality, far
> >> beyond the social identities of "authority" and "counter-authority".
> >> 
> >> These concerns are not unique to the withdrawal of prefixes at 16:00
> >> UTC on January 27, and 09:00 UTC on January 28 -- the "Egyptian
> >> Disconnection". Opportunistic and endemic network partition, rate
> >> limiting, and filtering are practiced by some governments. The
> >> practices which directly reduce the security and stability of the
> >> Internet must not be allowed to pass without comment because they are
> >> perpetrated by governments.
> >> 
> >> Sincerely,
> >> 
> >> the undersigned
> >> 
> >> === Text ends ===
> >> ------
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> >> 
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