WORKING TITLE - "IMPLEMENTATION IDEAS FOR BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES"

INTRODUCTION |IDEAS RELATING TO SPECIFIC SETIONS OF THE "BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR ccTLD MANAGERS"

Version 1.0
S. Leader

INTRODUCTION

This document was put together at the request of some ccTLD Managers who were concerned that the consensus Best Practices Document - Version 1.0 [Rough] [now Version 3.3.4] removed some material which might be of use to Managers wishing to develop a version suited to specific local needs. This document therefore incorporates (slightly edited) material removed from "Best Practices Guidelines for ccTLD Managers - Version 3.3.3".

"Implementation Ideas for Best Practice Guidelines" is not intended to be in any sense binding on any ccTLD Manager. Rather it provides supplementary material which arose from the ccTLD global consultative process in the creation of the "Best Practice Guidelines for ccTLD Managers". This material is referenced back to the new document by Section Number, and may be of assistance when thinking about local needs for Best Practice.

IDEAS RELATING TO SPECIFIC SETIONS OF THE "BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR ccTLD MANAGERS"

• I. Section 2 - Definitions
• II. Section 3.1 - Status and Responsibilities
• III. Section 3.2.1 - Registration Policies
• IV. Section 3.3.3 - (Updating Registrants details)
• V. Section 3.3.5 - (Fair and Equitable Treatment of Registrants)
• VI. Section 3.3.6 - Privacy
• VII. Section 3.3.7 - Domain Name Dispute Resolution
• VIII. Section 3.5.3 - Financial Matters
• IX. Other Matters

I. Section 2 - Definitions

The definition of "Local Internet Community" includes users. In determining who the 'users' are consideration may be given to including the educational community, the private sector, Internet societies, individual users, others. The definition of the Local Internet Community may vary from one country/territory to another, and is essentially a matter for the community in a given country/territory to decide. The definition of the Local Internet Community should be documented, available for public inspection, and transparent to the local community.

II. Section 3.1 - Status and Responsibilities

a. Consultation The Local Internet Community, is the source of the mandate under which the ccTLD Manager manages and operates the domain. The Manager's fulfillment of that mandate should be ensured through an ongoing consultative process with the Local Internet Community, which should, in turn, result in the protection of the interests of the Global as well as the Local Internet community.

b. Service to the Community

Promotion of the Internet - Depending on the circumstances of the Local Internet Community the ccTLD Manager to may undertake to foster the use of the Internet in the geographical location associated with the ccTLD's ISO-3166 code for which the domain is named. The Manager would then take a leadership role in promoting awareness of the Internet, access to the Internet, and use of the Internet within the Country. The ccTLD Manager should develop, over time, a consultative process with various elements of society including the government, the education interests, the health care interests, the cultural and other non-commercial interests, the business interests, and other sectors of society that may be affected by and which may profit by the use of the Internet, and who together make up the Local Internet Community.
Investment in the community - As community service is a central element in the mandate of a ccTLD, the ccTLD Manager could from time to time, and depending on its financial situation, identify activities serving the interests of the local community with respect to the Internet. The cctld Manager could choose to engage with the local community to stimulate broad usage of the Internet through initiatives such as educational programs, technical assistance, programs to enhance Internet access opportunities for residents, identification of innovative benefits to the local community through the Internet, or other activities as the ccTLD Manager might from time to time identify as serving the best interests of the local community with respect to the Internet.

III. Section 3.2.1 - Registration Policies

Formation of Policies - Procedures for registration of domain names should follow policies rules and procedures that have been established and published in a transparent manner in consultation with the Local Internet Community, consistent with IANA's requirements.

IV. Section 3.3.3 - (Updating Registrants details)

ccTLD registries should collect the necessary information to ensure that the Registrant can be authoritatively identified. Registries may choose to generate passwords, authentication tokens, digital/paper certificates, etc to assist in identification.

Registries should provide an easy means for registrants to update their details in the registry database . This may be web-based.

V. Section 3.3.5 - (Fair and Equitable Treatment of Registrants)

Fairness - The ccTLD Manager should be equitable and fair to all eligible registrants that request domain names. Specifically, the same rules should be applied to all requests and they should be processed in a non-discriminatory fashion. The policies and procedures for the use of the domain should be made available for public inspection.

Policies defining which organizations, businesses, individuals, etc. are eligible to register domain names under the 2-character ccTLD should be defined by the ccTLD Manager in consultation with the Local Internet Community. Specifically, the registration of domain names should be based on objective criteria that are transparent and non-discriminatory. Policies and procedures may vary from country to country due to local customs, cultural values, local policies and objectives, law and regulations. The definition should be documented, available for public inspection, and transparent to the Local Internet Community.

Requests from for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations are to be treated on an equal basis, and no discrimination may be made between customers or classes of customers based on race, gender, national or ethnic origin, creed, physical disability, or political affiliation. No bias shall be shown regarding requests that may come from customers of some other business related to the ccTLD manager. There can be no stipulation that a particular application, protocol, or product be used .

VI. Section 3.3.6 - Privacy

The ccTLD Manager should have a consistently applied policy on privacy, and that policy should be published. In attempting to provide public access to the contact information necessary to look up a domain in the Who-is database to qualified interested parties, the ccTLD manager should follow general principles of personal data protection on a fair and equitable basis and comply with applicable laws on data privacy, for the benefit of the local and global Internet communities. The Manager should strive to harmonize the need for a global transparent Whois database and the privacy and data protection concerns of the local Internet community by ensuring that any processing of personal data takes place only with the unambiguously given consent of the registrant.

ccTLD Managers will determine independently how much information to make available to the general public. In order to limit undesirable behavior (e.g. spamming) by those viewing the database, restrictions to protect the integrity and availability of the database, such as limiting bulk access to qualified users paying for such access, may be introduced.

Users may look up the contact information for a single domain name, but may not download the data in bulk without a contractual agreement with the Registry. After reviewing the basic information, such as the existence of a domain name, a third party may then contact the individual ccTLD, and obtain whatever information the ccTLD wishes to release.

Registries may enter into contractual agreements with third parties to provide them with access to (bulk) data in return for payment, a percentage of which would be remitted to the ccTLD secretariat in order to support that organizationÕs activities on behalf of ccTLDs without burdening them with its funding. The secretariat would co-ordinate a master database of such information that the individual ccTLDs wish to make public. The rest of the funds collected via such payments would be distributed to the individual ccTLDs .

VII. Section 3.3.7 - Domain Name Dispute Resolution

The ccTLD Manager should establish and publish rules providing for independent resolution of domain name disputes consistent with international dispute resolution conventions and otherwise providing for swift, definitive, and non-discriminatory resolution of disputes. Such rules may provide for initial action in the best judgment of the ccTLD Manager, exercised in good faith, but such action should be subject to the independent dispute resolution process. Each ccTLD Manager should adopt policies and procedures for resolving domain name disputes that suit the laws and customs of their local Internet Community and the policies of their ccTLD. ccTLD Managers are encouraged to develop a Local Dispute Resolution Policy (LDRP) that may be based on ICANN approved policies, e.g. the UDRP.

VIII. Section 3.4.2 - Technical Operations

Duties . The ccTLD Manager supervises the process of registration of domain names in the registry of the ccTLD, and supervises the operation of the domain name servers and the maintenance of the appropriate zone files for the ccTLD. There must be permanent (24-hours per day) Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity to the name servers and the registry servers. There should be published e-mail and web address contacts, and these should be permanently accessible. The ccTLD Manager must do a satisfactory job of supervising the DNS service for the TLD, and carry out its tasks in a satisfactory manner, with technical competence and with equipment reflecting at least the state of the art prevailing in the DNS system globally. Duties such as the assignment of domain names, delegation of subdomains and operation of nameservers must be performed with technical competence. At a minimum, the ccTLD manager must provide primary and secondary nameservers with 24-hour Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity to the Internet, 365 days per year, and operate the database with accuracy, robustness, resilience, and reliability. (See RFC 1591 and ICP-1).

VIII. Section 3.5.3 - Financial Matters

Geographical Affiliation . For the benefit of identification by the Global Internet Community, each Registry should identify itself territorially, as belonging to one of the following geographical regions: Europe, Asia-Australia-Pacific, Latin America-Caribbean, Africa and North America. ccTLD registries shall determine their "ICANN regional affiliation", as described in the ICANN Bylaws http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm. Their physical geographical region, as recorded in any standard world atlas, generally defines this affiliation. However, when a corresponding territory is situated between two or more ICANN regions, the ccTLD Registry may self-select its adherence to any but only one of them.

Membership in Trade Organizations . In order to benefit from the full and open exchange of information between ccTLD Registries, and in the interests of both the Local and Global Internet Communities, each Registry should, to the extent that its resources allow it, participate in bodies or organizations that foster exchange of ideas, and spread news of technological developments and standards among registries, so that each registryÕs offerings may adequately reflect the most up-to-date services available. As such organizations may allow membership only to those registries with a particular geographical affiliation, al least one trade organization: the ccTLD constituency of the DNSO of ICANN, (as well as possible others) will address the concerns of all cctlds without exception.

IX. Other Matters

Co-operation with law enforcement. A ccTLD Manager receiving a complaint from a relevant and recognized authority (e.g. branches of security agencies that concern themselves with mass media) of harmful or illegal (i.e. activity that is prohibited by local laws on disseminating certain kinds of information [national security-related data, pornography, etc.]) activity being conducted on a domain registered with the ccTLD, should share with that authority information on the holder of the domain name.

Promotion . It is the obligation of the ccTLD Manager to foster the use of the domain. Because of the many options for domain name registrants, the marketplace will, in large measure determine the pricing levels for services of ccTLDs. Nevertheless, the ccTLD Manager should price its services at such levels as to promote and not limit the use of the domain name and to be competitive generally with the market. The ccTLD Manager should not in effect hoard the domain by excessive pricing relative to the market or otherwise act in a monopolistic fashion. A demonstration of financial abuse of registrants will be deemed misconduct by a ccTLD Manager.