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February 22, 2005

Court Hears Challenge to DTV Content Protection Rule

A Federal court today hears a challenge to the "broadcast flag" rules designed to deter widespread copying of digital TV broadcasts. The rules require that after July 2005 all devices handling broadcast digital programs must obey certain content protection standards. The lawsuit by a range of public interest groups argues the FCC did not have the authority to create such broad rules, which impact computers and the Internet as well as TVs. [Center for Democracy and Technology]

February 19, 2005

The Definition of Internet Governance a la WGIG

Once again, users are ignored. Thank the Gods that Karl Auerbach once again is here to point it out. How unfortunate that the UN has fallen into the same trap that doomed ICANN from the start.

Below are my latest comments for the UN's Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). (A few typos have been corrected.)

Comments of Karl Auerbach
Former North American Elected Director, ICANN
http://www.cavebear.com/
karl@cavebear.com

Regarding the document working definition of internet governance, posted at http://www.wgig.org/docs/WorkingDefinition.pdf:

In the second paragraph the listed participants in this system of governance are:

  • governments
  • the private sector
  • civil society
  • international organizations.

Sadly, this list does not include living, breathing, thinking people.

Has the concept of governance fallen so low that people no longer have a place?

Why should legal fictional persons (i.e. corporations) receive seats via "the private sector" while those who ultimately endure and suffer the burdens of governance and who ultimately pay the price of governance, the individual people of the nations of the Earth, are excluded?

The claim has been made many times that "people don't [need] entrée into the halls of internet governance because they are represented by their respective government[s]." Were that claim true then "the private sector" and "civil society" would also be represented by their governments.

Do we really want the internet to be regulated through a system of governance that is based on preference for some and exclusion of others?

[CaveBear Blog]

February 11, 2005

NTIA Nixes Privacy Protection in Whois (Circle ID)

Once again the US Government has sided with the Intellectual Property cartel and ignored practical privacy intereests.

Many registrars have gotten complacent about reforming the Whois-Privacy relationship. After all, they can sell additional privacy protection to their subscribers for an extra $5-10. Seems like a perfect "market oriented" interim solution, as the so-called "bottom up" policy development process of ICANN figures out how to provide tiered access. Not so fast. [CircleID]