New Zealand’s ccTLD got a pandemic bump in domain name registrations in the year to 31 March, with registrations up almost 2% to what was then an all-time high to 723,451, according to the Domain Name Commission’s latest annual report released last week. Since then, registrations jumped another 1,002 to the end of June.
New Zealand’s Domain Name Commission has launched a guide targeted at the insolvency industry to give them some information to help them with the domain names of companies placed in liquidation, the organisation announced in their latest monthly newsletter.
New Zealand’s Domain Name Commission (DNC) had their third victory in three appearances in their ongoing court battle with DomainTools, the latest being in March. DomainTools had appealed three claims, following losing their first appeal, but won only one, while the DNC won the remaining two, with consideration being given by the DNC to appeal the remaining claim. It is a battle over whether a top-level domain registry protect the privacy of their registrants. As Jordan Carter, InternetNZ’s CEO, told the Goldstein Report back in March 2019, “this test case will be significant for protecting the privacy rights of .nz registrants in the .nz domain name space and it is likely to have an impact on other ccTLDs and the wider industry.” It seems that the privacy rights of .nz registrants has been protected.
Continue reading .NZ Gets Another Victory In DomainTools Battle Over registrant Privacy Rights
Today [Monday] InternetNZ is launching our #ShopSafeNZ campaign hoping to raise awareness about safer online shopping experiences for Kiwis. We’ll be campaigning in the lead up to the holiday season and retail sales from 25 November – 1 January 2020.
.NZâs Domain Name Commission has published its monthly update for October with news on its Domain Name Abuse Forum in November and that it is currently seeking submissions as part of their Framework Policy Review 2018.
The Domain Name Abuse Forum next month has Justice Minister Andrew Little opening the event. Numbers are restricted to 100 people for this free, one-day event bringing together lawyers and law enforcement, internet safety and security experts, government departments, academics and more. Attendees will work together to identify issues surrounding domain name abuse, understand the issues more clearly, and identify the best course of action to deal with these challenges.
InternetNZ is currently seeking submissions as part of their .nz Framework Policy Review 2018. The .nz Framework Policy requires updating to reflect the new structure implemented as part of the Organisational Review of 2017. Roles and responsibilities previously assigned to NZ Registry Services in the old organisation structure need to be reassigned to InternetNZ. The review is technical in nature and does not extend to the principles underpinning the operation of .nz.
In other news for New Zealandâs country code top level domain (ccTLD) manager, thereâs an update on InternetNZâs participation at ICANN63 in Barcelona where Jordan Carter was elected as the Asia-Pacific representative on the CCNSO Council that had thus far been held by former Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan. Thereâs also an update on ICANN63 that InternetNZ staff attended, including the Government Advisory Committeeâs (GAC) biannual High Level Government Meeting Session. The ccNSO meeting received updates from various working groups, including one on the retirement of ccTLDS. âThe group achieved consensus on the process to retire a ccTLD. The trigger event is the removal of the ccTLD from the ISO 3166-1 list. The group agreed that the subsequent retirement period before removal from the root zone should be in the range of 3-10 years following the trigger event.â
Thereâs also updates on Domain Name Commission staff attending The Crossroads Conference 2018 in Auckland that brought together local and international experts, and focused on putting the online safety sector ahead of the technology curve. Attendees heard presentations on a range of topics based around promoting online safety, disrupting online harm, and protecting and educating children. Plus InternetNZâs inaugural digital annual report was shortlisted year in the annual report category of the Plain English Awards.
The October DNC Newsletter is available in full from:
https://www.dnc.org.nz/the-commission/news/1745
Over 22,000 individuals with .nz domain names have chosen to have the Individual Registrant Privacy Option (IRPO) applied, New Zealandâs Domain Name Commissioner has revealed in their August update.
The DNC notes this reflects a significant shift in online spaces more generally, with many users taking a stronger approach to privacy online. In the .nz domain name space, the DNC notes itâs critical to strike the right balance between fostering transparency and accountability, while enabling users to take control of their privacy. The IRPO was designed to do just that.
The DNC reminds that not all .nz registrants qualify to use IRPO, and misuse of the service is something that the DNC will be looking at in greater detail in the coming months. Eligibility is limited to:
As a result of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, there has also been seen an increase in the use of third-party privacy options and proxy services. These are not permissible under .nz policy. The DNC will be addressing the use of these services by working with the providers offering these.
For the complete August update, which also provides updates on International Outreach, the latest Board meeting, a Registrar Advisory Group meeting, Making .nz safe, trusted and secure, NetHui dates and the development of a strawman Cyber Security Strategy by the National Cyber Policy Office, see:
https://www.dnc.org.nz/the-commission/news/1730
The integration and streamlining of the management of New Zealand’s country code top level domain continues with the announcement that New Zealand Registry Services merged with InternetNZ on 1 April.
Following a consultation with staff and stakeholders of the InternetNZ Group, including InternetNZ, NZRS and the Domain Name Commission, in 2017, it was decided to bring all of the InternetNZ Group under one management. In November it was announced that the existing InternetNZ Chief Executive would head the newly integrated organisation.
In January it was announced Brent Carey would be the incoming Domain Name Commissioner to lead the Domain Name Commission into a new phase after the Organisational Review of the InternetNZ group during 2017.
And the latest announcement saw Carter announce the merger of InternetNZ with NZRS, the registry and operator for .nz domain names.
“The integration of InternetNZ and NZRS is an important shift within the Internet space in New Zealand,” said Jordan Carter, InternetNZ Group Chief Executive. “The change to our structure is designed to slimline our governance and to be able to deliver more for the Internet and for New Zealanders. Our purpose is to support the benefits of the Internet for all New Zealanders. This change will help us further that goal and we’re excited about it.”
“NZRS has a proud record of innovation, service delivery and contributing to the Internet both here and globally, and that foundation is an essential part of the new InternetNZ we’re building this year.”
Carter says the team plans to build on the strengths InternetNZ have across the group, InternetNZ, NZRS and DNCL, to deliver more for the New Zealand Internet community and to face the inevitable challenges as the potential of the Internet grows.
“The work InternetNZ does is important, and as the Internet plays a bigger role in all our lives, our work will continue to reflect that. We speak on behalf of New Zealanders who use the Internet, and the services we offer are essential for Kiwis who want to make the most of a free and open Internet,” says Carter.
InternetNZ doesn’t just manage the .nz ccTLD. It also has a proud history of outspoken advocacy, a voice for the people and helping to implement policy. Since its inception, over the past 20 years InternetNZ has delivered outstanding service to the public through the management of the .nz domain, returned over $2m to the community through grants programmes, influenced a range of public and technical policy debates, and supported and hosted a wide range of community events.
It has also contributed on the regional and global stage, to the framework of a free and open Internet; developed innovative products such as the National Broadband Map, and maintains a leading technical research programme.
“I’m not taking these reigns lightly or on my own, we have strong foundations that we will continue to build on. That’s something the whole team is proud of, it’s why they turn up in the morning and continue to do the great work they do, often changing lives under the radar.
“This year, we will bring our organisations together and take a close look at our strategy. Our job is to serve our community and customers with leading technology, community support and fresh policy ideas. That will remain our focus,” Carter says.
Individual registrants who register their .nz domain names for personal use will be able to withhold their phone number and contact address from publicly appearing in domain registrant searches from 28 November.
The change to the public registrant details has come about after the Domain Name Commission completed a review of the Whois domain registrant search. After five rounds of consultation and 133 submissions from individuals and organisations, their input led to the development of this policy to become a major change in the .nz space.
The option to withhold contact information will be available from the 28 November 2017 with all .nz registrars having to offer the service from 28 March 2018. This timeline allows the registry and registrars to make any changes required in their systems.
The Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan is pleased with the robust discussion around this privacy measure and encourages individual registrants to think about using this option if they feel it's best for them.
From today (1 November) individuals registering, or who have registered, a .nz domain name are able to mask the registrant’s contact address from being publicly displayed due to privacy and personal safety concerns the Domain Name Commissioner (DNCL) announced.The change is provisional as there is currently a major review underway to determine what information should be displayed when a WHOIS search is done on a .nz domain name. Throughout the review, DNCL has become aware that some individual registrants are concerned for privacy and personal safety reasons about having their contact address publicly displayed.The provisional address masking option has been introduced to help alleviate these concerns while DNCL carries on with its WHOIS review. Those wanting to take advantage of the option will have his or her contact address masked with a unique reference code and DNCL’s P.O. Box address.Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan says DNCL is currently running a public consultation – asking for the community’s feedback on two policy options for withholding some information in the WHOIS, including contact address information.”In the meantime,” she says, “the address masking option announced today is intended to allay any personal safety concerns around public display of address information while we finish up our review and implement any permanent policy changes – expected to be later in 2017.”With the provisional address masking option, any individual registrant can ask that their contact address is masked from display in the .nz WHOIS. This doesn’t change their contact address information recorded on the .nz Register; it just means that information can’t be seen when someone does a WHOIS search on their domain name. Any mail sent to the masked address displayed on the WHOIS will be forwarded to the address on the Register, by DNCL.Importantly, says Monahan, the masking option is open to any individual registrant who is concerned for whatever reason about having their contact address publicly visible. She encourages all individual registrants to make use of it if they feel the need.The address masking is a straightforward process, but can only be effected by DNCL. It works by having individual registrants email DNCL from their email address on record. The DNCL office will then run some basic verification checks before applying the masking.The option is not available to businesses or organisations.
[news release] As part of a wide-ranging two stage review, the Domain Name Commission Limited (DNCL) has today launched the first of two public consultations on the .nz WHOIS.
The WHOIS is the publicly available search service that that lets people find registration information for a .nz domain name. Using the WHOIS is commonly known as a âdomain name searchâ.
In this first public consultation, members of the public and interested stakeholders are being asked to comment on a number of matters, including why .nz registrant data should / or should not be collected and made publicly available in the WHOIS.
To assist with peopleâs understanding of the .nz WHOIS and how it currently works, DNCL has put together a consultation paper and a one-page overview at https://dnc.org.nz/whois-review-consultation-1.
The deadline for making a submission on the first public consultation is 6 November 2015. Submissions can be made by email to policies@dnc.org.nz, or by mail to PO Box 11 881, Wellington.
A second consultation and public meetings in Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington and online will follow later in the year on what information is displayed in the WHOIS, and how.
Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan says public feedback will help inform DNCLâs thinking as it progresses the WHOIS review, and encourages all interested parties to familiarise themselves with the first public consultation and make a submission.
For more information about DNCLâs .nz WHOIS review process and associated public consultations please visit https://dnc.org.nz/whois-review-consultation-1.
This Domain Name Commissioner news release was sourced from:
dnc.org.nz/story/domain-name-commission-calls-public-comment-nz-whois-review