auDA Management presentation on policy consultation June 2019 Consolidation of slides from the May 2019 and June 2019 Board meetings
Principles • Promote principles of competition, fair trading and consumer protection (DOCA ToE) • Maintain and promote the operational stability and utility of the .au ccTLD (auDA const.) • Minimise confusion from policy changes • Minimise uncertainty during implementation • Differentiate eligibility for .au from eligibility for .com.au • Recognise that .com.au is a commercial space, which supports a range of business models to generate revenue – including domain monetisation • auDA is not a website content regulator – that is the role of ACMA and ACCC • Definitions of terms for auDA policies should reflect definitions from current Australian legislation • Where possible existing policies should be simplified and modernised to reflect current Australian legislation
Results of Consultation • Facebook and Instagram advertisements reached 1.4 million • 1.5 million impressions of shorter names video – with 18.7% watching it to the end • 11,808 unique visitors to https://shorternames.com.au/ website • 1,750 completed the website survey • 15% conversion rate versus 2-4% industry standard • 17 unique written submissions received • most registrars and domain name investors submitted a pro forma response
Public Consultation Feedback
Website survey results 1. Would you apply to get a shorter .au domain name if they are introduced? 2. We propose that to register a domain name ending in .au, you must have an Australian presence. Do you agree with this? 3. We propose to give existing domain licence holders in .au priority to apply for their corresponding domain name in .au for 6 months from launch date. Do you agree with this? Yes No Question 1 86% 14% Question 2 94% 6% Question 3 83% 17%
Summary of feedback – licensing rules • Strong support for new licensing rules including - .au eligibility rules, public interest test, and protections for deceptively similar • A registrar recommended aligning allocation rules for .com.au / .net.au with allocation rules for .au, whilst retaining the .com.au/.net.au eligibility restrictions • Limited opposition to changes such as: • Removal of misspelling list (was a free complaint option for intellectual property holders, rather than using auDRP which has fees) • Internationalised Domain Names - 3 submissions against • Sub-licencing – domain investors want the option to sub-licence
Summary of feedback – direct reg implementation • Limited remaining opposition to direct registration - 4 submissions • Single submission supported an auction to allocate direct .au names rather than a priority process • One corporate submission suggested indefinite lock-down if parties don’t reach agreement • Most supportive of an annual application renewal fee – although domain name investors concerned with cost if no benefit • Propose creating a landing page that lists the parties still in contention for each name, that will have links to the parties’ websites so they can receive and measure traffic • Registrars oppose credits for unsuccessful applications given there are costs to validate each applicant for the direct registration • May need some mechanisms to update details of domain names used for eligibility during the priority application period.
Credits for registrant licence transfers • Little support amongst registrars for providing credits as part of normal domain name registrant licence transfers • Usually value of remaining licence period is immaterial compared to the sale price of a domain name licence. • There is a case for considering bulk transfers when a portfolio of names is sold between parties
Changes to .au licensing rules at May 2019 Board meeting
Summary of changes – Direct Reg implementation • No changes have been made since the 15 April 2019 version • Retained annual application renewal fee – strong support, and a landing page can be provided with links to negotiating parties’ websites so that they can receive and measure traffic
Summary of changes – Licensing Rules • Updates to allow addition of new .edu.au rules in future that align with .au framework • Aligned .com.au and .net.au allocation rules to those for .au, which is consistent with the ASIC rules for registering business names (see Regulatory Guide 235: https://download.asic.gov.au/media/1247075/rg235.pdf). The focus will remain on ensuring that a com.au/net.au registrant is an eligible commercial entity (i.e. with a valid ABN/ARBN or ACN number), but they will not be restricted in the name they choose other than that it can’t be on the reserved list, and not already registered as a domain name to someone else. This would result in no restrictions on use, other than those prohibited by law. • Increased the time available for registrants to change their details after a licence sale agreement is signed to 28 days. • Added details of external registrant review process for auDA compliance decisions.
ccTLD comparison for name allocation • None of the following have name allocation rules for commercial entities: • .ca (Canada) • .co.uk and .uk (United Kingdom) • .com and .us (United States) • .co.nz and .nz (New Zealand) • .de (Germany) • .fr (France) • There is no evidence that the absence of allocation rules has caused harm in those name spaces.
ASIC Business Name availability tests • From: https://asic.gov.au/for-business/registering-a-business-name/before-you-register- a-business-name/business-name-availability/business-name-availability-tests/ • Is not identical to a name that is already registered to someone else • Is not undesirable for registration • Does not includes any restricted words or expressions
tas.gov.au names • To participate in the priority registration process for .au, the names must be in the central registry • The Tasmanian Government requested approval to add their names to the registry and participate in the priority registration process • The Board approved adding tas.gov.au names to the registry to participate in the priority registration process
Changes to .au licensing rules approved at June 2019 Board meeting
.au licensing rules – DOCA consultation • 20 May 2019 - The Board RESOLVED to approve the.au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing in principle, subject to further feedback with DOCA and internal review by SRC regarding IDN and further authorised Management to commence the Industry Implementation Plan. • 22 May 2019 – The Department of Communications, Cyber Safety, and the Arts (DOCA) provided via email some additional feedback regarding the public interest test • 24 May 2019 – auDA provided written responses to the feedback received on 22 May, as well as written responses to questions received on 10 May 2019, and discussed by phone on 17 May. • auDA also met with the Joint Cyber Security Centre (JCSC) in Melbourne, and held a teleconference with the Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security at the Dept of Home Affairs • As a result auDA has revised the licensing rules to address some of the concerns raised by DOCA with respect to requests from foreign agencies and the degree to which auDA conducts investigations
DOCA update • 14 June 2019, DOCA advised: • received their internal legal advice. • commenced discussions with security agencies and the Attorney General’s Dept and will convene a senior-level meeting • speaking with the ACCC who are looking at the competition / fair trading aspects of the rules. • Given the public interest test talks about compliance with Australia's obligations under international law we will need to speak with the Dept of Foreign Affairs, the Office of International Law and a few other agencies as well to get their views. • Note .au licensing rules don’t come into effect until 1 October 2019 • When DOCA advice is received • if minor changes are necessary we will bring to the Board for approval • if more substantive changes, we will put out for 21 day public comment, prior to Board approval
Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) • A briefing of the security issues and mitigation to address those issues was presented to the Security and Risk Committee (SRC) on 3 June 2019 • Risk management included: • Only work with IDN tables where there is more than 10 years of practical experience • Only work with languages that have significant usage as IDNs • Only allow one script per language • There is extensive practical experience with Han (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) language scripts – and collaboration across China, Korea and Japan • Roll-out language by language, and monitor impacts moving to the next language • Implementation not before 1 July 2020 • Implementation planning to commence in April 2020 and involve further consultation with other parties such as MailGuard (email spam and virus filter software), the TASC, and local language communities, and also review whether to introduce in .com.au as well as in .au. • Update to be provided to the SRC in May 2020
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