Industry stakeholders universally praised the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) report on communications sector cybersecurity risk management for recommending voluntary processes and assurances, with Motorola Solutions saying in comments posted Monday that those recommendations “strike an appropriate balance” between assuring cybersecurity protection and reflecting the interests of all stakeholders. The CSRIC report, adopted in March, was meant to adapt the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework for communications sector use (see 1503180056). Industry groups CTIA and TIA similarly praised the CSRIC report for providing important guidance to the sector (see 1505290042). A separate Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) proceeding (see 1504090049 and 1503160059) on possible cybersecurity topics the IPTF should address through multistakeholder work drew multiple filings urging the IPTF to factor the NIST framework into its process.
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez dodged ICANN’s request for the federal agency’s guidance on whether Vox Populi registry’s pricing of .sucks domain names was illegal, but told ICANN in a letter released Thursday that the nonprofit corporation should make policy changes to its new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program. ICANN had asked the FTC and Canada’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) in April to investigate Vox Populi’s .sucks pricing structure for trademark owners during a sunrise period before the gTLD’s public rollout. A determination that those practices are illegal would constitute a violation of Vox Populi’s registry agreement (see 1504140049). Canada’s OCA hadn’t responded to ICANN’s request at our deadline and didn’t say when it planned to do so.
Proponents of differing proposals for an exemption to Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201 allowing for circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) for the purpose of unlocking cellphones and tablets appeared to move closer to a consensus during a U.S. Copyright Office hearing Tuesday. CO officials have been holding hearings on several of the 27 proposed Section 1201 exemptions it's considering as part of its sixth triennial rulemaking on the section (see 1505140070). The device unlocking exemption proposals did not have active opposition after the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) and TracFone submitted a proposed compromise revision of Consumers Union's original proposal, but CCA, Consumers Union and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) representatives differed Tuesday on the language CO should recommend. An earlier CO hearing Tuesday on a proposed Section 1201 exemption for circumventing TPMs for good-faith security research purposes proved more contentious, with CO officials indicating they were uncertain whether they would recommend the exemption.
ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s planned March 2016 departure is unlikely to derail the ongoing Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition process, but it has the potential to have a minor impact and further politicize the process, U.S. stakeholders told us Friday. Chehadé said Thursday he plans to depart ICANN for work in the private sector but will continue to help ICANN transition to a new CEO and advise the non-profit on ICANN-related issues like the IANA transition. NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling expressed confidence Thursday that the IANA transition wouldn’t be affected by Chehadé’s departure, saying the transition “does not depend on the leadership of a single individual” (see 1505210053).
Most ICANN stakeholders said the ICANN Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) stewardship cross-community working group’s (CWG-Stewardship) revised draft proposal for an IANA transition plan is an improvement on the group’s initial proposal, in comments, but some stakeholders also urged ICANN to hold another comment period because they considered the initial period too brief. The revised CWG-Stewardship proposal, released in late April, would recommend ICANN create a legally separate subsidiary tentatively named the Post-Transition IANA (PTI) to handle IANA functions post-transition. An ICANN-selected board would govern PTI, while the Customer Standing Committee (CSC) and the IANA Function Review Team (IFRT) would handle current federal oversight functions. The proposal would allow PTI to completely separate from ICANN at a later date (see 1504270053 and 1504280060). Comments on the revised CWG-Stewardship proposal were due Wednesday, but ICANN said it extended the comment deadline for non-English-speaking stakeholders until Tuesday because it had delayed the release of translated versions of the revised proposal.
The House Appropriations Committee cleared an FY 2016 $51.4 billion budget Wednesday for the Department of Commerce and several other federal departments and agencies. It includes a provision that would bar NTIA from using its funding “to relinquish” its responsibility for domain name systems functions via the planned spinoff of its oversight over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. The committee-passed FY 2016 Commerce budget would give the department $8.2 billion -- $250 million below its FY 2015 budget and $1.6 billion below the department’s FY 2016 funding request. NTIA would receive $35.2 million under the proposed budget, below the $49.2 million it originally requested. The National Institute of Standards and Technology would receive $855 million -- $9 million less than its FY 2015 budget (see 1505130047).
Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, said he's backing the newest iteration of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization (STR) Act to include provisions aimed at jump-starting new U.S. innovation in the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in highway travel and other transportation systems. The House was set Tuesday to vote on a two-month extension (HR-2353) of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the current authorization of federal highway and other surface transportation programs. The extension is meant to be a stop-gap while the House irons out details of a hoped-for bipartisan compromise on reauthorization, Farenthold said during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event. The House hadn't voted on the extension by our deadline.
ICANN’s process of spinning off U.S. federal government oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions and legislation like the USA Freedom Act are dominating the public debate over how to regain public trust in the Internet’s integrity, but broader debates will have a more lasting effect on the Internet’s future, industry experts said Monday. Congress is continuing to scrutinize ICANN’s planning of the IANA transition (see 1505130061) during ICANN’s public comment period on a proposed transition plan and proposed improvements to ICANN’s accountability to stakeholders. Efforts to reform domestic surveillance authorities at the NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies shift to the Senate this week, where a Senate version of the USA Freedom Act (S-1123) could get a vote. The House passed its version of the bill (HR-2048) on a 338-88 vote last week (see 1505130054). Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is continuing to push for reauthorization of the controversial Patriot Act Section 215.
Upcoming U.S. Copyright Office hearings in Los Angeles and Washington are likely to at least partially clarify how the CO will proceed in its consideration of 27 proposed exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201, stakeholders in the DMCA exemption proceedings said in interviews this week. The CO has been reviewing the 27 proposed exemptions as part of its sixth triennial review rulemaking process for Section 1201. The section prohibits the circumvention of technological protection measures. A final round of replies on the proposed exemptions was due earlier this month (see 1505050051 and 1505080051).
The House Commerce Committee is working on compromise language to amend the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act (HR-805) in a way that will reflect bipartisan consensus on how to ensure ICANN proceeds effectively in its transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. That subcommittee and the IP Subcommittee examined the IANA transition as part of separate ICANN-related hearings Wednesday (see 1505120045).