[CPWG] Competition, regulation and the Users' interests

[lists at christopherwilkinson.eu]

https://circleid.com/posts/20210917-regulating-big-tech-this-time-for-sure

Good evening:

Geoff Huston has done us all the good service of posting this critical analysis of competition and regulation as applied to contemporary Internet services. I recommend reading it.

ICANN itself is not mentioned. However, within the comparably small DNS market, ICANN is undoubtably either the Regulator of the DNS industry, or the Dominent player in that industry.

As at Large, WE have to choose. In this context At Large is bound by the economic consequences of the technical requirement (which I support)  for the Unique Global DNS Root. Yet again, I call on ICANN  to step up to its responsibilities as the Regiulator of a Natural Monopoly, the Root.

I have long argued that ICANN should step up to its inevitable responsabiity as the Regulator of the conditions of competition in the DNS market.  If ICANN fails to do so, sooner or later, other international competition regulators will step in and ask what is going on. 

No comment on the consquences of that…!

But WE already know enough about competition policy to see what needs to be done. 
Geoff Huston has provided us with a userul reminder. 

In the ICANN context, I have proposed:

Competition and Concentration:  ICANN should impose a cap on the accumulation of Regitries (gTLDs) by individual Regisrars;

Vertical Integration:  Vertical integration as presently conceived by ICANN and GNSO must be replaced by structural separation, or its equivalent. No more VI.

The current model, which is in defiance of the pro-competitive model iimposed on Verisign by NtIA in the 1990's, for separaetion of the Registry and Registrar businesses, The current VI policy which was slipped into the 2010 AGB process, must now be recinded as the mistake that it was. 

New Entrants: All provisions in the current draft AGB which privilege incumbents against new entrants should be systematically stripped out. There are quite a few. Admittedly, it is difficult to to take account of all interests that are not yet represented as stakeholders. 

But are WE operating a closed door or an open door?
	
Geographical Names:  Geo-Names as 'gTLDs', are NOT 'Generic' . The rules and procedures for the allocation of ANY geo-Name as a TLD must take full account of all relevant cultural, linguistic, geographic. IPR,  and historical considerations, including in certain circumstances local and regional politics.

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Regards to you all


CW



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