As I mentioned earlier this week Ukrainians had requested that ICANN (and RIPE) take a variety of actions that would effectively have knocked Russia off the public internet. RIPE NCC's Board issued a statement to reiterate its neutral stance. Now ICANN, via its CEO Göran Marby, has issued a formal reply (PDF). It's as I'd have expected. It's polite, yet firm. On … [Read more...] about ICANN Refuses Ukrainian Request to Pull Russian Internet Domains
EU Sanctions Russia Today and Sputnik
The European Union has announced sanctions against both Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik. The official announcement makes it very clear that the sanctions apply to online as well as more traditional broadcast media: The sanctions cover all means for transmission and distribution, such as via cable, satellite, IPTV, platforms, websites and apps The sanctions are directly … [Read more...] about EU Sanctions Russia Today and Sputnik
RIPE Reaffirms Neutral Stance
There have been calls from both inside Ukraine and within the broader RIPE community for RIPE NCC to "take action" against Russia in light of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While this might seem like a "good idea", it's really not. (See also my post from earlier today about the Ukrainian demands to ICANN) RIPE NCC's Board met yesterday and have issued a very clear … [Read more...] about RIPE Reaffirms Neutral Stance
Ukrainians Call for Russia to be Pulled from Public Internet
One of the Ukrainian representatives to ICANN's Government Advisory Council (GAC) has sent a very broad sweeping request to ICANN and the IANA demanding that they essentially help to knock Russia off the internet. Apparently they're also writing to RIPE with similar requests. The letter, which was shared on Twitter by Bill Woodcock, is addressed to ICANN's CEO Göran Marby as … [Read more...] about Ukrainians Call for Russia to be Pulled from Public Internet
Namescon Returning to Austin
NamesCon, like so many other industry events, has been running 100% online for the last two years. Now it looks like the event is coming back in an "in person" format. The event organisers are planning an in person event in downtown Austin, Texas for August 31st to September 3rd. They'd held the last in person event in Austin in early 2020 before the pandemic resulted … [Read more...] about Namescon Returning to Austin
Big Telcos Want to Break Net Neutrality in EU
Four of Europe's largest Telcos have penned an open letter calling for an end to net neutrality in Europe. The letter, which has been picked up in various media outlets including the Financial Times, was penned by the CEOs of Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Orange and is also published on their respective websites. In it they talk about the importance of online … [Read more...] about Big Telcos Want to Break Net Neutrality in EU
Verisign to Increase Wholesale Fees for .com Domains
In a move that has surprised practically nobody, Verisign has announced that the wholesale fees for .com domain names will be going up. From September 1st 2022 the wholesale cost for a .com domain name will increase to $8.97 (US dollars). The current wholesale price is $8.39. The price rise is 7%, which is the maximum that Verisign is allowed under their current contract … [Read more...] about Verisign to Increase Wholesale Fees for .com Domains
Greek Mixed Script .eu to be Removed in November
The .eu registry is phasing out Greek mixed script registrations, as there's now a specific domain extension for Greek script. If you want to register a domain using Greek then there's the .ευ which is specifically designed to serve Greek.greek domains. They reminded registrars of this phase out recently: From 14 November 2022, only Greek domain names with the Greek .ευ … [Read more...] about Greek Mixed Script .eu to be Removed in November
Nominations Open for 2022 Rob Blokzijl Award
Nominations are now open for the 2022 Rob Blokzijl Award. The awards are run by the Rob Blokzijl Foundation which was setup following his passing in 2015. Every two years they award someone in the RIPE region who has made a significant contribution to the internet community. Full details of the nomination process are outlined on the Foundation's site here. You can … [Read more...] about Nominations Open for 2022 Rob Blokzijl Award
European Commission Call for Submissions on Anti-Counterfeiting
The European Commission has launched a "call for evidence" for the "EU Toolbox Against Counterfeiting". What that means in practical terms is that they're expecting feedback and input from a variety of stakeholders on the subject. However the call is very broad and open, so I suspect they'll get a very big wishlist from IP interests. At the moment the official page for this … [Read more...] about European Commission Call for Submissions on Anti-Counterfeiting