U.S. Judge - ICANN & Domains
I been tracking developments in a case filed by an Illinois-based e-mail marketing company -- e360Insight, LLC -- against London-based anti-spam group Spamhaus. After winning a default judgment against Spamhaus -- which apparently did not fully participate in the court proceedings -- e360 asked the federal court in Chicago to order the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to suspend Spamhaus's web address, spamhaus.org.
I can take no position on the merits of e360Insight's case against Spamhaus, but I would strongly oppose any court order that required ICANN to take action against Spamhaus or any other domain-name registrant. ICANN is a technical body that oversees the global Domain Name System (DNS). ICANN does not directly control or manage individual Internet addresses, and it lacks the authority or practical ability to take the action proposed to the court. Under no circumstances would ICANN be an appropriate entity to carry out a remedy in a legal dispute over individual Web addresses. In cases involving a judgment against a domain holder that is outside of the court's jurisdiction, the appropriate approach would be for the aggrieved party to enforce the judgment in the foreign jurisdiction where the domain holder is located.
Beyond ICANN's lack of legal authority or practical ability to take action against a specific domain holder, an effort by a court to make ICANN an enforcement arm of the U.S. legal system will only exacerbate the already significant global concern about the historic relationship between ICANN and the U.S. government. Rather than enmeshing ICANN in particular disputes, policy makers should be working to ensure ICANN's independence from any government.
Based on an initial examination, I am hopeful that the court will be able to resolve this issue without involving ICANN.
I can take no position on the merits of e360Insight's case against Spamhaus, but I would strongly oppose any court order that required ICANN to take action against Spamhaus or any other domain-name registrant. ICANN is a technical body that oversees the global Domain Name System (DNS). ICANN does not directly control or manage individual Internet addresses, and it lacks the authority or practical ability to take the action proposed to the court. Under no circumstances would ICANN be an appropriate entity to carry out a remedy in a legal dispute over individual Web addresses. In cases involving a judgment against a domain holder that is outside of the court's jurisdiction, the appropriate approach would be for the aggrieved party to enforce the judgment in the foreign jurisdiction where the domain holder is located.
Beyond ICANN's lack of legal authority or practical ability to take action against a specific domain holder, an effort by a court to make ICANN an enforcement arm of the U.S. legal system will only exacerbate the already significant global concern about the historic relationship between ICANN and the U.S. government. Rather than enmeshing ICANN in particular disputes, policy makers should be working to ensure ICANN's independence from any government.
Based on an initial examination, I am hopeful that the court will be able to resolve this issue without involving ICANN.
posted by The Last Word | 1:14 PM
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