An ICANN rejection of the .org deal wouldn't mean "the end of the road," Electronic Frontier Foundation Staff Attorney Cara Gagliano said at a briefing on the proposed sale of Public Interest Registry (PIR) to private equity firm Ethos Capital. Later Thursday, ICANN's board held a special meeting to discuss the transaction. If it nixes it, it's “effectively dead,” Gagliano said at a news conference. If it lets the decision deadline slide, the deal can proceed. Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) of California, where ICANN is headquartered, recommended that ICANN reject the plan (see 2004160062). Under state law, the AG can seek a court order limiting what can be done with the .org registry contract with ICANN, effectively ending the sale, said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Mitch Stoltz. The AG in Pennsylvania, where PIR is incorporated, has broad power to investigate transactions involving nonprofits and can file objections in the court that must approve the sale, Gagliano said. Asked whether any private groups intend to try to block the sale, Stoltz said: “We're looking into all the options.” Transaction opponents have heard from congressional members and several foreign governments concerned about the matter, Access Now General Counsel Peter Micek told reporters. Most civil society organizations agree they would prefer not to get the U.S. government involved but say it's wholly appropriate for it to scrutinize the proposal under its duty to safeguard the public interest. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said China routinely uses economic clout to censor critics, increasingly since COVID-19 emerged. Concerns include fears of “censorship for profit” if the registry suspends domain names at the behest of companies, Stoltz said: If PIR becomes a for-profit corporation with millions of dollars to pay off, there will be an incentive to use censorship to help defray those costs. That could mean shutting down apps and email addresses, he said. The pandemic showed how private equity firms degraded infrastructures people depend on, such as hospitals, by extracting resources, said Access Now Global Campaign Strategist Carolyn Tackett.
ICANN revenue could drop 5% over FY 2021-2025 due to COVID-19, officials said at a Tuesday webinar. The $11.1 million decrease is expected to come from fewer domain name registrations and fees from contracted parties such as registries and registrars, said Director-Financial Planning and Analysis Shani Quidwai. The webinar was to allow public feedback on a proposed five-year strategic, operating and financial plan, and FY 2021 (ending June 30) operating plan and budget. The drafts published in December are now slightly obsolete and have been tweaked before expected board approval next month, said Chief Financial Officer Xavier Calvez. The nonprofit expects the pandemic to affect all its planned activities and finances for the rest of this year and all the next fiscal year, which is why it developed a new set of financial projections, he said. Changes to the revised documents include the lower revenue projection and reduced personnel costs due to less hiring and less travel and meeting cost because of travel restrictions. Plans for a new round of generic top-level domain names remain unchanged, Quidwai said. The organization is in good shape to weather the crisis because of a stable reserve fund and control over its finances, said CEO Goran Marby, but there's "a lot of uncertainty going forward" that will affect ICANN as an institution.
ICANN's board is acting to minimize risks associated with coronavirus, Chairman Maarten Botterman blogged last week. It's working to reduce the possibility that directors might contract the virus. This includes avoiding all ICANN-related travel through September and canceling a planned in-person May workshop, a spokesperson told us Monday. To ensure decisions and progress continue, directors are holding weekly information calls and special virtual meetings, he said. Directors also are prioritizing work to ensure that what must be done under the bylaws or on time-sensitive issues can be handled, the spokesperson said. "The overall expectation is that output/productivity will be reduced because of the pandemic-related causes, such as illness, family commitments, etc. They're hoping the prioritization will ensure focus." The work plan includes "hot topics" such as the proposed sale of .org registry Public Interest Registry, how best to support the next ICANN remote meeting, and domain name system abuse, Botterman wrote. The board will now generally concentrate on bylaw-mandated responsibilities such as the FY 2021 budget and developing a policy for generic top-level domain name registration data that complies with the EU general data protection regulation.
ICANN is acting against COVID-19 domain name system abuse, CEO Goran Marby blogged. There are wide reports of criminals using the pandemic to launch malicious online campaigns and increased use of COVID-19-related domains for DNS abuse, he wrote Monday: New threats include phishing, business email compromise and malware distribution. Some cases allegedly involve fraudsters luring Internet users into giving away access credentials and confidential information with the promise that they are buying supposed cures for the coronavirus and personal protective equipment. The organization developed a system to help identify abusive domains that use terms such as "coronavirus" or "ncov"; assess them against threat intelligence sources to see if they're involved in phishing and malware; and notify authorities. "Combating abuse requires predictable and reliable access to domain name registration data with a legitimate interest," Marby wrote. ICANN is trying to clarify whether under the EU general data protection regulation, a unified access model for global top-level domain name registration is possible, Marby wrote: "The ICANN community has not received the requested guidance."
ICANN delayed to May 4 its decision further whether to approve the .org deal. A Thursday letter from ICANN General Counsel John Jeffrey to Public Interest Registry President Jon Nevett confirmed the organizations agreed the April 20 deadline would be extended. "ICANN is not providing or withholding its consent at this time and PIR agrees that ICANN shall not be 'deemed' to have consented under any of PIR's registry agreements as a result of this extension," the letter said. It's unclear whether the delay is the result of a Wednesday letter from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) urging ICANN to reject the transfer of PIR from the Internet Society to private equity firm Ethos Capital (see 2004160062). Ethos told us Friday it's "working closely with" the AG to address the outstanding concerns in his letter, emailing that "specific aspects of the transaction that were not referenced in the letter, including actions we've taken that prove our intent to be a valued partner of PIR and .ORG." Ethos hopes to continue talks with the AG, it added.
ICANN should "reject the transfer of control over the .ORG registry to Ethos Capital," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said Thursday in a letter to the ICANN board and CEO. The AG's office, which is charged with supervising charitable trusts in the state, investigated ICANN and its role in approving the sale by the Internet Society of the Public Interest Registry to Ethos (see 2003090027). If Ethos is permitted to buy PIR, "it will no longer have the unique characteristics that ICANN valued" when it chose PIR as the nonprofit to run the registry, Becerra wrote. He accused the parties of failing to respond to some questions from ICANN, the public and the internet community, including queries about PIR's financial picture after the sale and the sale process itself. The absence of critical information is "troubling given the unique nature of the .ORG community," he said: ICANN must exercise its authority to withhold approval."
Three Democratic senators questioned whether domain name hosts are taking appropriate action to address COVID-19-related scams and attacks. Cyberattackers are registering domain names with references to COVID-19 to carry out phishing, “install malware, spread misinformation about the virus, or otherwise take advantage” of users on platforms like Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, wrote Mazie Hirono, Hawaii; Cory Booker, N.J.; and Maggie Hassan, N.H. They sent letters Monday to GoDaddy, Dynadot, Donuts, Namecheap, Web.com, Endurance International Group, InMotion Hosting and DreamHost. It’s “imperative that domain name registrars not turn a blind eye to such illicit activity, but rather act to protect the Internet-using public,” they wrote, asking what steps are being taken to ensure domain name registrants are legitimate. The Domain Name Association didn’t comment Tuesday.
ICANN wants feedback in a week on updated public interest commitments for .org, President Goran Marby blogged Wednesday. The Public Interest Registry, which the Internet Society proposed selling to Ethos Capital, revised its PICs in response to ICANN questions (see 2003090027). The changes include a pricing table that further clarifies the maximum service fee to be charged for .org domain names, and assurances a stewardship council will start within six months of the PIC being added to PIR's registry agreement. Marby wrote that "PICs are enforceable by ICANN," noting board members "have reservations" about their enforceability. The organization must decide by April 20 whether to greenlight the deal.
ICANN is helping the domain industry in the COVID-19 pandemic, blogged Russ Weinstein, senior director-gTLD accounts and services. Registrars can temporarily delay canceling domain name registrations that can't be renewed. Weinstein said Wednesday that it's a situation that highlights the possible need for a policy to protect registrants when they are prevented from renewing their domains by natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances.
Governments want "clear and enforceable safeguards" for the .org community in any contractually binding public interest commitments Ethos Capital makes in the Public Interest Registry deal, ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee said Tuesday. Officials at last week's remotely held ICANN meeting (see 2003090027) encouraged directors to keep engaging with the community and to ensure the views of stakeholders are "properly taken into account." GAC members welcomed ICANN reassurances that "all options remain open." They praised progress made in developing a policy for generic top-level domain registration data that complies with the EU general data protection regulation but urged ICANN to come up with a standard form for access to nonpublic information by parties with a legitimate interest, saying that "remains a high priority for the GAC."