Center for Democracy and Technology
Improvement of Technical Management of Internet Names
 Comments of the Center for Democracy and Technology



Before the
Department of Commerce
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Washington, D.C. 20230

In the Matter of                       )
Improvement of Technical               )
Management of Internet Names           )     Docket No. 980212036-8036-0
and Addresses; Proposed Rule           )



COMMENTS OF THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY

The Center for Democracy and Technology ('CDT') respectfully submits these comments in response to the Proposed Rule regarding Improvement of Technical Management of Internet Names and Addresses published in the Federal Register of February 20, 1998.

CDT commends the Department of Commerce ('DOC') for the approach it has taken to create a plan for the improvement of technical management of the Internet. We believe these central management systems -- including the domain name system, the Internet addressing system and the operation of root servers -- are essential to realizing the ultimate democratic and economic promise that the Internet offers. For this reason and others, there are strong civil liberties interests and strong individual user and consumer interests in the structure of these technical management systems. Given our concern to avoid governmental abuse of civil liberties and human rights through the instrumentality of the DNS, CDT supports the DOC efforts to create a private, non-governmental system, as opposed to a government-run entity.

Entrusting a private entity with such broad power over the Internet as is proposed, however, requires that accountability to basic human rights and individual interests be built into any new structure created. We urge the DOC to include representation of individual and non-commercial users. We believe that in the final structure of the new entity, these groups and human rights or civil liberties NGOs must also be represented in such as way as to assure that this non-commercial segment has substantial influence over the outcome of decisions taken by the entity.

Statement of Interest: CDT is an independent, non-profit, public interest organization in Washington, D.C., working to develop and implement public policies that protect and advance civil liberties and other democratic values in the new digital communications media. CDT has had a direct role in discussions of Internet governance since its inception in 1994, and in July 1997 co-sponsored the "Forum on Internet Domain Names" in Washington, D.C. with the Interactive Service Association and the Information Technology Association of America. (A report of the proceedings is available online at http://www.cdt.org/dns)

The Department of Commerce Process: Stable, open, and well-functioning technical management systems are essential to the continued well-being of the Internet and to realizing the promise that the Internet offers. To that end, CDT supports the process set in motion by the Department of Commerce to reevaluate the management of these systems. We believe that the DOC approach has the potential to create a broad representative, accountable structure. And, consistent with the desire to protect Internet users' civil liberties from government abuse, as well as consistent with the Clinton Administration's "Global Framework for Electronic Commerce," CDT supports the ultimately global, non-governmental nature of the DOC approach.

Individual User Interests: The domain name system, addressing system, and other management functions occupy a unique, centralized role in the otherwise highly-decentralized Internet. As such, the structure and governance of these systems have important implications for consumers and individual users:

  • Civil liberties interests - The threat of government misuse: Centralized Internet management functions might easily be used by governments as a means for improperly limiting the freedoms of individual Internet users. For example, governments might choose to condition the granting of domain names or addresses on the content of an individual user's communications. Clearly, such conditions would be anathema to the free flow of information supported by today's decentralized system. Similarly, governments might choose to use domain names or addresses as a tool to require strong identification mechanisms for all Internet users, thus threatening individual privacy, the right to freedom of association and the right to anonymous political speech guaranteed by the United States Constitution and international human rights covenants. Finally, influence or control over the basic Internet protocols -- mentioned as one possible role for the new non-profit corporation created in the DOC plan -- creates new possibilities for government surveillance or improper stifling of security and privacy technologies. (Such a plan to influence Internet protocols in the interest of greater government surveillance powers was already announced by the U.S. Attorney General at a December 1997 meeting of G-8 Justice Ministers. See "International Cyber-SWAT Teams Planned to Fight Computer Crimes; Industrial Powers Say Terrorists Capable of Major Electronic Sabotage," Chicago Tribune, Dec. 11, 1997.)

  • Consumer interests and other user concerns: The market structure of the domain name registration system and Internet addressing creates obvious cost and competitiveness issues that affect the interests of individual Internet users separately from the economic interests of registration system participants or even businesses using the Internet. Inasmuch as the proposed non-profit corporaton would have a substantial impact on market structure and conditions for domain name administration, it is essential that consumer interests (those of individual, non-profit, and for-profit users) be well represented.

    • For all of these reasons, it is essential that individual Internet users, consumers, and civil liberty groups be given substantial representation in the Internet governance process. We are gratified that DOC has already recognized the importance of individual and non-commercial participation, and urge that the commitment to this principle be strengthened as this proposal is implemented. We believe that substantial representation of these interests requires:

    1.Inclusion of representatives of individual users, non-commerical users, and human rights or civil liberties non-governmental organizations: Each of these three communities has critical contributions to make to setting DNS management policies. None of the three are necessarily represented by the other two.

    2.Substantial representation: While the final structure of the governing body is not yet clear, we believe that the communities mentioned above in (1) ought to have enough voting power in such a body that their assent to fundamental policy decisions is required, at least when these three communities are united and use their voting power in a coordinated manner.

    Conclusion: The Need for Stronger User Representation -- CDT supports the approach of the Department of Commerce and believes it can form the basis for creating technical management structures for the Internet that are broadly representative and free from improper influence. At the same time, there are basic civil liberties and individual user issues implicated in the structure of these systems that must be addressed. CDT looks forward to working with the Department of Commerce and the Internet community to create a system that ultimately serves the interests of individual users and further realizes the democratic potential of the Internet.



    Respectfully submitted,

    Daniel J. Weitzner Alan B. Davidson CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY 1634 I Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 637-9800 http://www.cdt.org/

    March 23, 1998