Press Release
Contacts:
Kathryn A. Kleiman
General Counsel,
A-TCPIP/ Domain Name Rights Coalition
703/518-5184
Email: kathryn@domain-name.org

Harold Feld
Assistant General Counsel and Secretary,
A-TCPIP/ Domain Name Rights Coalition
202/662-5132
Email: hfeld@domain-name.org

Audrie Krause
Executive Director, NetAction
415/775-8674
Email: audrie@netaction.org

A-TCPIP/Domain Name Rights Coalition
Launches Petition Drive Calling For Right to Free Speech
As A Governing Principle of Internet Governance

March 16, 1998
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, USA

The Domain Name Rights Coalition (DNRC) in conjunction with NetAction and Professor Milton Mueller, Director of the Graduate Program in Telecommunications and Network Management at Syracuse University, are calling on the White House and Department of Commerce to recognize the right to free speech as a fundamental principle for Internet governance.

Members of the Internet community are invited to join this call by reviewing and signing a petition found at http://www.domain- name.org/petition.html.

On January 30, 1998, the Clinton Administration released its "Green Paper," a draft proposal for addressing the needs of the Domain Name System and the Internet. The Green Paper proposes setting up a private, non-profit corporation to manage top level domain name assignments and technical operations at the highest levels of the Internet.

The Green Paper proposes that the governing mechanism would be guided by four principles: stability, competition, private and bottom-up coordination and representation.

DNRC, NetAction and Mueller believe the Green Paper's four principles of Internet governance are too narrow and fail to recognize the broad spectrum of communication interests on the Internet.

"The Internet was founded primarily for the free exchange of ideas." said Kathryn A. Kleiman, General Counsel to the DNRC. "A Free Speech Principle must be a pillar for future Internet governance."

Kleiman noted that the dominant use of the Internet even today is expression, discussion, and dialogue. "While clearly the developments of commercial interests on the Internet are important, any Internet governing body must recognize the fundamental nature of cyberspace as a never-ending marketplace of ideas," she added.

"We, DNRC and NetAction, opposed last year's Internet Society International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC) proposals because they were pre-occupied with the rights of trademark owners at the expense of all other interests," said Robert Cannon, a pro bono attorney assisting the DNRC.

"The concept that space should be maintained where the speech interests of all members of the Internet community are protected was dismissed by the IAHC as incompatible with the interests of trademarks," he added. "The Green Paper offers the opportunity for a public dialogue and debate about the future of the domain name system -- one where the public interest in and the fundamental right to free speech can be recognized."

"The Internet creates powerful challenges to our fundamental notions of governance," stated Harold Feld, Assistant General Counsel to the DNRC, "and it offers the opportunity to develop new forms of government."

He added, "Any new system of Internet governance which fails to recognize the right to free expression, a right recognized by international treaty and by the United States Constitution, would be a step backwards, not forwards."

DNRC views the Green Paper as an important document which proposes international structures for governing the Internet now and in the future. DNRC supports the Green Paper overall as it provides a common ground for dialogue, an open and public transition for Internet Governance, and a good roadmap for addressing technical and policy issue.

Interested parties can electronically sign onto the Petition through Thursday, March 19, 1998, at http://www.domain-name.org/petition.html.

About Domain Name Rights Coalition and NetAction:
DNRC is a working group of the Association for the Creation and Propagation of Internet Policies (A-TCPIP). Two years ago, A-TCPIP/DNRC was organized to respond to the first version of the NSI Policy, and sharply criticized the Policy for creating an environment which would lead to the mass loss of domain names by small business, entrepreneurs and individuals. The predictions turned out to be accurate and DNRC regularly works with domain name owners who have received cease and desist letters against their domain names where there is no infringement or likelihood of confusion. DNRC also criticized the closed-door manner in which the first Policy, and its subsequent revisions, were created.

A-TCPIP also works with issues of Internet Governance, and has attended meetings at and submitted comments on domain name/trademark issues to the White House, Department of Commerce, World Intellectual Property Organization and other organizations. These comments, and additional material about the organization, can be found at its website, http://www.domain-name.org.

NetAction is an Internet-based grassroots organization that works to promote access to and use of information technology as a tool for community organizing, outreach, and advocacy, and to educate the public, policymakers, and the media about technology-based social and political issues. The NetAction homepage is located at http://www.netaction.org.