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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2001 - On behalf of a broadly based coalition, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) announced today the completion of agreements to form a policy organization for the United States Internet Top Level Domain Name Registry, known as the dot-us registry.
CDT Director Jerry Berman said, "I am delighted that public interest and business organizations, along with representatives of existing stakeholders in the dot-us registry from public sector groups such as schools, libraries, cities, counties and state governments have come together to establish the means by which the public may have an effective voice in the dot-us domain. The coalition members plan to work closely with the company which receives the registry contract from the Department of Commerce to serve the public interest in the United States national domain."
Today's announcement comes on the last day to submit bids to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to operate the dot-us registry. Members of the coalition have been working with potential bidders to form a policy organization that would respond to requirements of the DOC solicitation - issued in June - for a new operator of the registry.
It is anticipated that several of the most qualified bidders for the registry operating contract will include the coalition's proposals in their bids to the Department of Commerce. The coalition's work takes the form of two documents, a Memorandum of Understanding and a statement of Policy Principles and Structure. (Copies of the documents may be obtained from the press contact shown below.)
"Libraries have played a critical role in bringing Internet and electronic resources to the American public. In this capacity, libraries are important users of the dot-us domain. ALA's participation in this coalition will assure that libraries and the American public will have a continuing policy voice in the administration of this unique American resource," said Emily Sheketoff, Executive Director of the American Library Association's Washington Office.
Principles adopted by the coalition group include measures to represent the interests of all users of the dot-us registry, promote civil liberties, ensure sound management and operational stability of the registry, and achieve a balanced approach to protection of intellectual property.
"Dot-us must achieve its full potential to give companies and organizations of all sizes the ability to take advantage of this top-level domain space," said Joe Rubin, director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "As the voice of American business, we are participating in the .us debate to ensure its expanded commercial use."
While awaiting the DOC selection of a new operator, the coalition members will continue work on details of the new policy organization so that it is ready to commence policy outreach and development simultaneously with the transfer of registry responsibility, which is planned by DOC to occur prior to expiration of the present operating agreement for the registry in early November.
Information about the solicitation, including a copy of its text, may be found at: http://www2.eps.gov/spg/doc/nist/acasd/sb1335-01-q-0740/attachments.html
CONTACT:
Rob Courtney, CDT
202-637-9800
rob@cdt.org
(additional contacts below)
COALITION PARTICIPANTS:
American ISP Association
American Library Association
AT&T
Center for Democracy & Technology
Chamber of Commerce of the United States
Common Cause
Consumer Federation of America
Information Technology Association of America
The George Mason University Instructional Foundation
Media Access Project
National Association of Counties
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
National Education Association
National League of Cities
National School Boards Association
Progress and Freedom Foundation
United Church of Christ, Office of Communication
PARTICIPANT CONTACT INFO:
American ISP Association
Contact: Sue Ashdown
sue@americanisps.org
801-550-0411
American Library Association
Contacts: Rick Weingarten, Claudette Tennant
rweingarten@alawash.org, cwt@alawash.org
202-628-8410
AT&T
Contact: Marilyn Cade
mcade@att.com
202-457-2106
Center for Democracy & Technology
Contacts: Jerry Berman, Rob Courtney
jberman@cdt.org, rob@cdt.org
202-637-9800
Chamber of Commerce of the United States
Contact: Joe Rubin
jrubin@uschamber.com
202-463-5354
Common Cause
Contacts: Don Simon, Scott Johnson
dsimon@sonosky.com, sjohnson@commoncause.org
202-628-0242, 202-736-5753
Consumer Federation of America
Contact: Mark Cooper
markcooper@aol.com
202-387-6121
Information Technology Association of America
Contact: Kimberley Claman
kclaman@itaa.org
703-522-5055
The George Mason University Instructional Foundation
Contact: Dr. Michael R. Kelley
mkelley@gmu.edu
703-993-3100
Media Access Project
Contacts: Andrew J. Schwartzman, Harold Feld
andys@mediaaccess.org, hfeld@mediaaccess.org
202-232-4300
National Association of Counties
Contact: Jeffrey Arnold
jarnold@naco.org
202-942-4286
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
Contact: Libby Beaty
lbeaty@natoa.org
703-506-3295
National Education Association
Contact: Kim Anderson
kianderson@nea.org
202-822-7341
National League of Cities
Contact: Juan Otero
otero@nlc.org
202-626-3022
National School Boards Association
Contact: Dan Fuller
dfuller@nsba.org
703-838-6763
Progress and Freedom Foundation
Contact: Jeff Eisenach
jeisenach@pff.org
202-289-8928
United Church of Christ
Office of Communication
Contact: Bob Chase
216-736-2222
Chaser@ucc.org
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