Global Domain Name and Internet Policy News
Over the past couple of weeks Nominet, the .uk registry, has announced it will be funding Internet Matters to carry out research into the growing problem of self-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as well another programme to address the UK’s growing digital skills shortage and pull down the barriers many face trying to enter the rapidly-evolving workforce.
The Estonian Internet Foundation, the .ee registry, Estonian Internet Foundation, has launched a simple three-in-one personal identification service.
An Extraordinary General Meeting held Monday saw four of Nominet’s directors including Chair Mark Wood removed from their positions, while CEO and board member Russell Haworth stood down on Sunday, the day before the meeting. The Board clear-out follows a campaign for reform of the .uk ccTLD registry by Public Benefit .UK.
Nominet’s CEO Russell Haworth has become the sacrifice in the ongoing battles over management of the .uk ccTLD. In an announcement today, Nominet said Haworth “intends to step down from the Board and relinquish his duties as CEO. Russell will complete a short transition, arrangements for which details are being finalised. The board will announce interim leadership measures in due course.” Whether Haworth’s sacrifice minimises the fallout coming from today’s EGM remains to be seen.
Nominet has given some ground in light of a number of members, currently around 17.4% of members, proposing to dismiss half the board including the entire senior executive team and a number of other changes. As part of its efforts to appease the insurrectors, Nominet is proposing to scale up its public benefit programme, freeze .uk prices for at least two years and freeze board-level pay through the end of 2022, among other proposals.
London’s Sunday Telegraph reported of an insurrection brewing at Nominet, the .uk registry, with a former chair of the BBC “backing a bid to oust nearly half of the board of Nominet … amid anger over rising pay and falling contributions to good causes.”
The number of .uk domain names suspended dropped by 23% to 22,158 according to the latest update from Nominet on .uk domains suspended for criminal activity over the 12 months to October 2020. This is around 0.22% of the 10 million .uk domains currently registered.
Nominet and PIPCU, the City of London Police’s intellectual property unit, are collaborating in a pilot to protect internet users from scams online. The industry first initiative for a ccTLD registry sees Nominet introducing law enforcement landing pages for .uk domain names suspended due to criminal activity. This will provide information for those who may have been affected by the criminal activity related to the domain name.
The second quarter of 2020 saw global domain name registrations continue to rise, with an increase of 3.3 million, or 0.9%. This took total registrations around the world to 370.1 million as the global COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc.
Nominet has opened a consultation looking at how to implement a more transparent process for informing registrars and the wider public when expired .uk domain names will be made available for re-registration. They are also considering different methods for releasing highly desired expired domains which are contested (i.e. there are multiple parties seeking to register the domain name).