Should domain name registrars have the right to cancel a domain because they don’t like the content of the website it supports? How many registrars’ terms of service contracts give them this right and how many don’t? Should ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement ensure registrar neutrality, or is competition sufficient to protect users’ rights? This paper makes an empirical and conceptual contribution to the debate over domain name policy and Internet content regulation. We examine the Terms of Servicefrom 74ICANN contracted parties who operate more than 2,300 domain name registrars to find out how many have “morality” clauses of the sort that knockedtheDaily Stormeroff the Internet.We find that registrars with morality clauses in their ToS, or an operational equivalent, comprise around 59% of registrars and account for approximately 62% of the domain name market.We go on toanalyze and discuss the role of private actors in governing the Internet, seeking to define a clear and principled position regarding content regulation by private actors and the role of ICANN.
Governing Internet Territory: ICANN, Sovereignty Claims, Property Rights and Country Code Top Level Domain Names
Mueller, M. and Badiei, F. (May 2017) Governing Internet Territory: ICANN, Sovereignty Claims, Property Rights and Country Code Top Level Domain Names, Columbia Science & Technology Law Rev., 18, pp.435-515. https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/stlr/article/view/4023
Is Cybersecurity Eating Internet Governance? Causes and Consequences of Alternative Framings.
Mueller, M. (2017) Is Cybersecurity Eating Internet Governance? Causes and Consequences of Alternative Framings. Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, Forthcoming.
Internet Routing Registries, Data Governance, and Security
Abstract: Routing is fundamental to the workings of the internet, yet the basic routing protocol, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), is known to be insecure. This paper uses institutional economics to examine internet routing registries, which are used by network operators to mitigate the security flaws in BGP. Secure routing of...
Mapping The Cybersecurity Institutional Landscape
Abstract: Purpose There is growing contestation between states and private actors over cybersecurity responsibilities, and its governance is ever more susceptible to nationalization. The authors believe these developments are based on an incomplete picture of how cybersecurity is actually governed in practice and theory. Given this disconnect, this paper aims...
Digital Object Architecture and the Internet of Things: Getting a ‘Handle’ on Techno-Political Competition
Farhat, K. (2017) ‘Digital Object Architecture and the Internet of Things: Getting a ‘Handle’ on Techno-Political Competition’; Internet Governance Project, Georgia Institute of Technology