News
European ccTLD Brief (July 2015)
CENTR has published its latest CENTRnews magazine (17th edition). This month features:
- CWG proposal: a conditional victory
- EU Policy Update: telecoms package, NIS, copyright, Digital Single Market and more
- Interview with Alexander Mayrhofer, Head of R&D at NIC.AT and new Co-Chair of CENTR’s R&D Working Group
- ccTLD news highlights and statistics
Copyright, ICT and human rights on MEPs’ voting schedule this week
Two own initiative reports are on the agenda of the upcoming “Strasbourg week”, where MEPs give their “yay” or “nay” to both legislative and non-legislative proposals. Whereas both Reda’s copyright report and Schaake’s report on human rights and ICT in third countries are not legally binding, they both hold some “explosive content”. Reda has been accused of planning to abolish the “freedom of panorama” (which would mean that one would have to ask the architect’s permission before posting a photo of the European Parliament, for example). Schaake has come up with a long (wish) list of who is responsible for protecting human rights, including abroad (referring to, for e.g., encryption, mass surveillance, open source software, law enforcement through ISPs). The votes will take place on Thursday 9 July.
Council and European Parliament reach “understanding” on main NIS principles
An “understanding” between the Council and European Parliament on the main principles to be included in the NIS directive was reached on 29 June. The principles include requirements for providers of “essential services” (energy, transport, etc.) to manage network risks and report incidents. It will remain up to Member States to identify such essential operators based on criteria set out in the directive. Fragmentation is to be avoided, although it is not clear how. It is likely that sectors, such as energy, transportation or banking will feature on a common list. It is, however, not clear at this point whether national domain name registries would fall directly under the scope of the Directive or if it would be up to each Member State to decide. Digital service platforms (such as Facebook, ebay, etc.) will face “different” (softer) requirements, whereas details still need to be fleshed out. Member States will need to come up with their respective national NIS plans and to set up competent authorities. Operational cooperation among Member States at EU-level will happen through a network of CSIRTs (national Computer Security Incident Response Teams). The challenge of the incoming Luxembourgish EU Presidency will now be to turn these principles into legal provisions during the coming trilogue meetings. See also Council press release.
Council Conclusions on the Digital Single Market
In the conclusions from its last meeting on 25-26 June in Brussels, the European Council calls for a rapid adoption of both the telecoms package (roaming and net neutrality) and cybersecurity (the NIS directive). New data protection rules are to be finalised by the end of the year. The Council also states (directly and indirectly) its support to the other parts of the Digital Single Market strategy, including the copyright reform, an end to unjustified geo-blocking and further enquiry into the role of online platforms, and underlines the importance of the free flow of data within the EU. Having “delivered” on the telecoms package, the Council now seems to have freed some resources to concentrate on cybersecurity. The new EU cybersecurity strategy is to be finalised before the end of the year and work is to advance on the renewed EU Internal security strategy, including the fight against terrorism.
Tripartite negotiators reach deal on telecoms package
Apparently not wanting to make the Latvian Presidency leave without a legislative victory, the Council, Commission and European Parliament agreed on a deal on the telecoms package. Roaming will be abolished by 2017, from May 2016, roaming fees will be capped at EUR 0.05/minute for calls, EUR 0.02 for texts and EUR 0.05 per MB data. With regards to net neutrality, different speeds for special services are acceptable as long as the “general” quality of access is not affected. The text still needs to be finalised, as recitals are missing. The devil will lie in the detail. It needs to be noted that this proposal deals only with retail prices, i.e. what operators charge their subscribers. Legislators will, however, need to look at the question of wholesale prices no later than June 2016 in order to make sure that the ban of roaming in 2017 can actually be financed.
WHOIS campaign spreads to Europe
Registrars have rallied forces to warn about the consequences of requiring commercial website owners to publish their WHOIS data. The idea is part of an initial report on privacy and proxy services issued by an ICANN working group and open for public comment until 7 July and up until now, it has yielded more than 8,000 comments. Registrars offer privacy and proxy services for users who do not want their data, such as private addresses and telephone numbers, published in the WHOIS database. OAPI, an alliance of digital rights NGOs, has chimed into the campaign with an open letter to ICANN. Where registrars are concerned about having to police websites for illegal content, the NGOs warn about the chilling effects on the freedom of speech and the risk of harassment and intimidation. Commercial websites are also used by human rights activists, freelance journalists or small business owners. Revealing WHOIS data has also been a contentious issue in Europe, where it is found to breach European data protection rules.
Report on ICANN53 in Buenos Aires
The CENTR report from ICANN53 in Buenos Aires is available and covers the ccNSO, GNSO and GAC sessions by topic and theme, with a special focus on the IANA Stewardship Transition.
Find the report at https://centr.org/CENTR-Report-ICANN53 
CENTR Board of Directors comment to CWG proposal
As ccTLD operators and therefore, direct IANA customers, we have been working in close contact with ICANN to improve IANA’s performance, including its level of responsiveness toward its stakeholders, over the last decade. Consequently, we believe that the essence of a sound transition plan is the assurance that it will be targeting a further refinement of IANA productivity and efficiency and assures that IANA delivers a service on a non-discriminatory basis.
Our assessment of the proposal is based on the evaluation of the proposal against the need for operational excellence and organisational stability.
Read the full CENTR Board of Directors comment
Guide to ICANN53 Available
CENTR has published its regular Guide to the ICANN meeting. The report for ICANN53 (Buenos Aires) beginning next week covers topics and what to expect from the meeting particularly related to the ccNSO, GNSO and GAC sessions.
View CENTR's Guide to ICANN53
CENTR on Facebook - And other social media news
Last week, CENTR published its first post on its brand new Facebook page. This page will serve as another convenient tool to keep up-to-date with CENTR's activities, as well as to view photos of meetings and events.
CENTR will also keep updating and feeding its Twitter account, which has become a great and successful channel to interact with members and key stakeholders. CENTR will be phasing out its LinkedIn Group in favour of its CENTR LinkedIn Company Page, so make sure to follow us!