Results of Whois poll and draft report

[Milton L Mueller]

Here is a first draft of the Constituency Statement. Let me know if I missed any votes, or if you would like to add, subtract, or modify anything in the report. 

 

CONSTITUENCY STATEMENT, NONCOMMERCIAL USERS 

REPORT TO THE GNSO COUNCIL 24 September 2007

 

On Friday, September 14, the GNSO Staff report was circulated to the NCUC list. The same day, the NCUC  Chair noted language in the report calling for "Constituency Statements" to be "submitted in a formal statement to the Council list and to the ICANN Policy Lead" within twenty one (21) calendar days after initiation of the PDP."

 

The Chair recommended that NCUC express its support for Motion #3 contained in the report (appended below). That motion recognizes the fact that there is no consensus on existing Whois policy and asks that the Whois portions of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement be "sunsetted" (i.e., expired) at the end of 2008, and that support for Motion #1 be withdrawn.  

 

On Sunday, September 16 NCUC's monthly conference call was held to discuss the Chair's recommendation and find out whether there is any support for the recommendation. Finding no opposition on that call, it was agreed to send out an open ballot on the list asking whether all members agreed or disagreed with the recommendation. That ballot was sent September 16. By Thursday, September 20 the following results were obtained:

 

Mueller              AGREE (NA)

Guerra              AGREE (NA)

Greve               AGREE (EU)

Gross               AGREE (NA)

Kleiman            AGREE (NA)

Krimm               AGREE (NA)

Klein                 AGREE (AP)

Nzepa               AGREE (AF)

Peake               AGREE (AP)

Kissoondoyal    AGREE (AF)

Banks               AGREE (EU)

Afonso             AGREE (LAC)

Preston             AGREE (NA)

Rahman            AGREE (AP)

Tan                   AGREE (AP)

Fernandes         AGREE (LAC)

Chango             AGREE (AF)

Chun                 AGREE (AP)

-----

 

Younger            DISAGREE (NA)

Levins               DISAGREE (AF)

 

NCUC Tally 18-2

 

It is clear that within NCUC support is overwhelming for Motion 3, which would sunset current Whois requirements until a new policy can be negotiated from a clean slate. A clear rIn discussions, several concerns were expressed about the "reveal" function in the Whois report. As one member stated, "the REVEAL section...has no relationship to any real-world scenario I know.  In the real-world, a trademark owner sends a cease and desist letter to a person, or his attorney, and the parties can choose to respond, or not respond. The idea that anyone MUST respond to a demand that is inaccurate, overbroad, intimidating or threatening just because another individual or big business alleges there is an illegality (and they all always do) is not consistent with law." Another mewber, who participated in the Whois WG, added, "Once I realized what had transpired in sub-group A, where the reveal function was defined, I (and others) tried to object to it all along, as it seems like a total loophole to the access provisions we were trying to define and balance in sub-group B."

 

One member who disagreed with the motion expressed his view that "I personally prefer the current system to those proposed" and noted that under the current system registrars could sell or offer for free a service that shields the sensitive contact data. The other "disagree" voter preferred that NCUC take the lead in initiating new "face-to-face sessions on an intersessional basis wherein discussions may result in some type of an accord being reached." On this last point, the general sense of the constituency was best expressed by the member who wrote, "We don't need more meetings.  We need a precedent for Whois that says that absent consensus (general agreement broadly across constituencies), ICANN contracts cannot be used to force registrants to give up fundamental rights…"

 

Submitted on behalf of the NCUC by its Chair, MM

 


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