[governance] Re: [ga] Report: Registrars & Steroids

Tue Jul 22 04:29:35 EDT 2008

Elliot and all,

  If Registrars and Registries are not going to police their
registrants, and ICANN is not going to enforce it's own rules, 
and LOCAL law enforcement is ill equipped to handle the task 
of errant registrants, than whom is going to do the enforcement, 
santa claus?  Or maybe mickey mouse, eh?  The ultimate authority 
here is that DCO/NTIA is whom needs to either take the
situation in hand or the courts will eventually.  Problem with 
the courts doing so is that of a jurisdictional consideration.

  Therefore it would seem that perhaps DOC/NTIA needs to submit
legislation that would be used to address this ongoing and growing 
problem in a thoughtful but effective manner.  This would mean 
though that DOC/NTIA would remain in control of ICANN forever which 
would not suite the europeans and other countries sensitivities and 
profound anti-American attitude abroad.  Needless to say this problem 
will get even worse as new gTLD's and IDN gTLD's are added as per the 
ICANN decision recently taken in Paris last month.

  So what is a viable and workable solution?  One thing for sure is
that we don't want anyone from Tucows or Godaddy calling the
tune for everyone, and likely registrants with either may be a bit
concerned in same making these judgments for their DN's.  If so,
than maybe they can transfer their DN's to a more Registrant
"Friendly" Registrar?  A novel idea?  Hardly!  Should we wait until
Obama is elected president and his promise of appointing a Internet
czar make these calls?  Maybe, maybe not, as I am sure whomever
that czar was, and god forbid if it was Vint Cerf, an likely candidate,
than perhaps a lottery of submitted names with a random name selection
program doing the selection.  After all ICANN, DOC/NTIA, and
most other nations support various lotteries of different sorts.  Yeah,
Charlie Manson or Terry Childs might just win, who knows, but at least
it would have been a completely random process and no bias could
be claimed legitimately.  Yet I can see political games being played
with this suggestion or idea as well.  A conundrum?  Perhaps.

  My own solution only:

  Get the Independent registrants constituency up and running and let
them by blind lot elect a DN abusive name czar and let him or her serve 
for a 18 month term making these judgment calls under some strict rules
developed ONLY by the Independent Registrant constituency.  Any appeals 
to this czar's decision would of course be eligible for legal appeal in 
a court of proper and most importantly "Competent" jurisdiction's court 
of appeals, or non-US equivalent.  The problem with such appeals is 
finding a "Competant" judge in any jurisdiction in said court of appeals 
or non-US equivalent.

  It's either something very similar to my solution, or the IPC will
essentially be making the judgment calls on this as they have the GNSO 
council in their back pocket...

elliot noss wrote:

>  oops. link here:
> http://www.theregiter.co.uk/2008/07/21/registrars_cater_to_steroids_sellers/comments/
> On 22-Jul-08, at 6:48 AM, Danny Younger wrote:
>
>>
>>
   [Forwarded message]

   Networks of steroid dealing domains are sponsored through U.S.-based

   companies who refuse to shut them down even after being notified.

   LegitScript.com and Knujon.com have worked together to develop a
   report
   concerning extensive steroid distribution networks online. Steroids
   designated by the Department of Justice as Schedule 3 Substances
   were found at the 156 web domains listed in this report. The easy
   availability of illicit substances through these domains is
   shocking.
   Even more shocking is the lack of cooperation from the Registrars
   that
   sponsor these sites. On July 1 we issued joint letters to eight
   registrars: Abacus America, DSTR Acquisition VII, Dynadot.com,
   Everyones
   Internet, eNom Inc, EstDomains Inc, GoDaddy/Wild West, and Parava
   Networks Inc. In these letters we listed the websites, described the

   banned substances offered at each, and detailed how these sites were

   violating Internet policy, the Registrars own terms of service, and

   the law. Only three Registrars responded, two declining to
   cooperate,
   one stating they would look into it after several strong emails. A
   letter to one Registrar, Parava Networks Inc, was returned by the
   Postal
   Service as undeliverable, calling into question the general
   legitimacy
   of this particular company.

   While no one is accusing any of these Registrars of being actively
   involved in the illicit distribution, it is a simple fact that none
   of
   these sites would exist without the sponsorship of these Internet
   companies. Some Registrars may feel their first obligation is to
   their
   customers, but their real primary obligations are to the law and the

   stability of the Internet registration system. Everyone who
   registers an
   Internet domain is required to affirm that they are not registering

   the domain name for an unlawful purpose and the Registrar is
   required
   to ensure that this policy is enforced. For too long there has been
   a
   false perception that the Internet is lawless, but it isnt. The
   rules
   are just not enforced and the stakeholders have been unaccountable.

   Knujon and LegitScript feel that these Registrars also have a moral
   and
   ethical responsibility to the public since the sale and distribution
   of
   these illicit substances poses a grave health risk. These websites
   purport to offer steroids to anyone without prescription or age
   verification. It is our hope that in releasing this information
   public
   awareness of the problem will increase.

   The full Steroid Report is available here:
   http://legitscript.com/Steroid%20Report.pdf

   The press release is here:
   http://legitscript.com/newsitems/show/10

   A list of the Registrars, web domains in question, the substances
   offered at each, and samples of the site content can be viewed here:

   http://www.knujon.com/schedule3/dir.html

   For more information, please contact:

   John Horton
   877-534-4879
   LegitScript.com

   Or

   Dr. Robert Bruen
   +1.802.579.6288
   http://coldrain.net
   http://knujon.com

   Garth Bruen
   gbruen at knujon.com
>>
Regards,

Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 281k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
   Abraham Lincoln

"Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is
very often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
===============================================================
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div. of Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
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