[Nettime-bold] NAS DNS Study Comm-April 5 comments on provisional members due

[ronda@ais.org (Ronda Hauben)]

 This notice about the upcoming meeting of the National Academy of 
 Science DNS study committee was posted on IP mailing list this past
 Sunday I think. There has been little public attention paid to the 
 formation of this new committee to write a report on this 
 controversial issue for the US Congress. It is interesting that the
 notice didn't mention that the committee appointments
 were provisional and that the public had 20 days from the date of 
 their being posted at the NAS web site to comment on them. 

 It does seem that the NAS DNS process is already an even more
 closed process than the ICANN situation, and that ICANn was a serious
 problem because of the closed nature of that whole process.

 So I called and spoke with NAS staff person Margaret Marsh and asked when
 the date for comments to be in by was, and she said April 5, 2001.

 I mentioned to her that it would be good if the comments could
 be posted publicly, not just disappear into the bowels of 
 the NAS committee never to be paid any attention to.

 In any case, probably it would be good to try to utilize the 
 procedure, though all indications I have had from the NAS
 DNS committee is that there is no means of their taking
 seriously that they are dealing with a public question
 and that there is a public interest at stake and that
 a small, closed group of people like those on the committee
 cannot represent that public interest unless they find
 a way to open up the whole process.  Ronda
 
 (Also see the article in Telepolis 
 http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/te/7248/1.html )


>From: "Alan Inouye" <AInouye@nas.edu>
>To: dave@farber.net
>
>The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB)
>of the National Academies announces the launch of its study on
>
>INTERNET SEARCHING AND THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM:
>Technical Alternatives and Policy Implications
>
>This project will examine the impact of technological developments
>and policy changes on the domain name system and other mechanisms
>that individuals rely upon to find the information that they seek on the
>Internet.  The final report (to be issued in 2002) is expected to characterize
>the institutions, policies, procedures, research, and development needed
>to ensure that searching on the Internet remains feasible and can improve
>in capability throughout the decade and will include a discussion of the
>important and unresolved issues concerning trademarks.
>(See below for the full project scope and roster of members of the
>study committee) This study is sponsored by the U. S. Department
>of Commerce and the National Science Foundation and is mandated
>by the U. S. Congress through Public Law 105-305.
>
>* First Meeting of the Project
>The first committee meeting of this study will take place on
>April 9-10, 2001, at the National Academies in Washington, DC.  There
>will be a session open to the public on April 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
>The panel sessions on April 9 will focus on the relevant policy context;
>panelists will be asked to identify those topics that should be
>emphasized in this study.  Panelists include Becky Burr
>(Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering), Alan Davidson (Center for Democracy
>and Technology), Michael Froomkin (University of Miami),
>M. Stuart Lynn (ICANN), Steve Metalitz [invited]
>(International Intellectual Property Association), David
>Post (Temple University), Michael Roberts (formerly of
>ICANN), Shari Steele (Electronic Frontier Foundation), and
>Emerson Tiller (University of Texas); additional panelists may
>also participate.  Aubrey Bush from the National Science
>Foundation and representatives of the U. S. Department of Commerce
>will also address the study committee.  Since space is limited for
>observers, advance registration is strongly recommended; please
>contact Margaret Marsh at <mmarsh@nas.edu> or 202-334-2605
>to register.  Additional details concerning this first meeting or the
>study may be found at the Web site of the National Academies
><www.nationalacademies.org>.  Click on "current projects"
>(at the top of the screen) and search for the name of this study.
>
>* Public Comment and Project Updates
>Public comments to the study committee are welcome and may
>be made at any time by sending email to <nrcisdns@nas.edu>.
>CSTB will also be providing periodic updates on the project
>and notices of upcoming sessions open to the public via an
>e-mail list.  If you wish to receive these updates, please send
>your request to <nrcisdns@nas.edu> as well.
>
>* Project Scope
>This project will examine the impact of technological developments
>and policy changes on the domain name system and other mechanisms
>that individuals rely upon to find the information that they seek on the
>Internet.
>It will assess the effect on Internet name assignment, addressing, and
>searching of trends such as the continuing increase in the number of
>Internet users and sites, the growth in embedded computing devices,
>and the introduction of permanent personal and object identifiers.  It will
>identify, describe and evaluate emerging technologies that can affect
>Internet searching.  Some of the approaches to be considered are: the
>addition of generic top level domains; new name assignment,
>addressing and indexing schemes; new directory structures for locating
>information or sites of interest; and improved user interfaces for
>accessing information on the Internet.
>
>The technologies that support finding information on the Internet are
>deployed within a complex and contentious international policy context.
>The "right" to use a particular domain name can often be disputed--
>sometimes as an honest conflict among multiple, legitimate claimants;
>sometimes by cybersquatters seeking to profit in the secondary market
>for domain names; and sometimes by those who wish to post negative
>information or parody a like-named organization.  Effective solutions
>must consider the potentially competing interests of domain name
>owners and trademark holders; the different interests of large multinational
>corporations, small business owners and individuals; and public interests
>such as freedom of speech and personal privacy.
>
>This study will examine the degree to which the options offered by new
>technology or new uses of existing technology can mitigate concerns
>regarding trademarks and other economic or public interests, facilitate or
>impede further evolution of the Internet, and affect steps being taken to
>enhance competition among domain name registrars, the portability of
>Internet addresses, and the stability of the Internet.  For each of the
>prospective technologies, the final report is expected to characterize
>institutions, policies and procedures that should be put in place
>to complement it and will specify the research (if any) required to
>develop it.
>
>Additional information describing the National Academies
>study process may be found at
><http://www.nationalacademies.org/about/ensuring.html>.
>Additional information concerning CSTB may be found
>at <www.cstb.org>.
>
>* Committee Roster
>Provisionally Approved by the National Academies
>
>ROGER LEVIEN, Chair
>Strategy & Innovation Consulting
>Principal and Founder
>
>ROBERT AUSTEIN
>Vice President of Engineering
>InterNetShare.com
>
>CHRISTINE L. BORGMAN
>Professor & Presidential Chair in Information Studies
>Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
>University of California, Los Angeles
>
>JEAN CAMP
>Assistant Professor of Public Policy
>John F. Kennedy School of Government
>Harvard University
>
>TIMOTHY CASEY
>Partner Resident
>Fried Frank Haris Shriver and Jacobson
>
>LESLIE DAIGLE
>Executive Vice President
>Rattlenote Technology Inc.
>
>HUGH DUBBERLY
>Principal
>Dubberly Design Office
>
>CHARLES H. FERGUSON
>Chairman
>Juice Software, Inc. and Capital Thinking, Inc.
>
>TAMAR FRANKEL
>Professor
>Boston University Law School
>
>PER-KRISTIAN HALVORSEN
>Director
>Solutions and Services Technology Center
>Hewlett-Packard Research Labs
>
>MARYLEE JENKINS
>Partner
>Robin Blecker & Daley
>
>JOHN C. KLENSIN
>Internet Architecture Vice President
>AT&T
>
>MILTON L. MUELLER
>Associate Professor and Director
>Graduate Program in Telecommunications and Networking Management
>School of Information Studies
>Syracuse University
>
>WILLIAM RADUCHEL
>Executive Vice President
>AOL Time Warner
>
>HAL R. VARIAN
>Dean
>School of Information Management and Systems
>University of California, Berkeley
>
>PAUL VIXIE
>Chairman
>Internet Software Consortium
>
>
>S T A F F
>
>ALAN INOUYE
>Study Director and Senior Program Officer
>
>CYNTHIA PATTERSON
>Program Officer
>
>MARGARET MARSH
>Senior Project Assistant







_______________________________________________
Nettime-bold mailing list
Nettime-bold@nettime.org
http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold