News

In a nutshell: The EU telecom and consumer protection ministers met under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency. The ECON committee voted on the FiDA proposal. The European Parliament voted to change the procedural rules under GDPR and published a study on the resilience of EU elections. The EDPB set out its priorities for 2024-2027 and shared a Data Privacy Framework note. ENISA together with European Commission’s Joint Research Centre published an analysis on the Cyber Resilience Act requirements and standards. The European Commission published a call for evidence for evaluating the Terrorist Content Online Regulation. The European Political parties signed a pledge on EU elections transparency. The Czech Republic published its digital priorities for the years 2024-2029. The UN has published the zero draft of the Global Digital Compact.

The 119th IETF meeting took place in Brisbane, Australia, between 16 and 22 March 2024, a week packed with working group meetings & sessions, a 2-day hackathon and various side events. Marco Davids from SIDN Labs attended the meeting and has written a summary of the main points of relevance for CENTR members.

CENTR is thrilled to announce that during its 71st Annual General Meeting, the General Assembly elected three members to the CENTR Board of Directors: Byron Holland (.ca), Luisa Ribeiro (.pt) and Thomas Keller (.de). They join Gilles Massen (.lu) and Roelof Meijer (.nl). Byron was appointed as CENTR Treasurer and Roelof as CENTR Chair.

The CENTR Secretariat extends its heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing Board members, Barbara Povše (former Chair of the Board, .si), and Philip du Bois (former Treasurer, .be), for their invaluable contributions over the past four years.

Reflecting on his appointment, Roelof Meijer states, “I consider it an honor to be a member of the board of this unique organization and to be able to directly contribute to the tremendous value that CENTR provides to its members. My appointment as Chair of CENTR’s Board of Directors gives me a unique opportunity to serve, facilitate, and further build the BoD team itself and to do so with everything I have learned and gained in my career so far.”

In a nutshell: The Council of the EU adopted the Regulation on Geographical Indications protection for agricultural products. The European Commission has presented a recommendation on the EU Intellectual Property toolbox, has opened a call for proposals for an EU repository of public domain works, and has published a delegated act on data centres' energy efficiency. The European Parliament adopted the Cyber Resilience Act, and Artificial Intelligence Act, and jointly with the Council of the EU adopted the EUID Regulation. The European Data Protection Supervisor presented their investigation into the European Commission’s use of Microsoft 365. The NIS Cooperation Group updated the compendium on securing the EU 2024 elections. ENISA published its Foresight report for 2030 cybersecurity threats. EU Member States shared their concern on the Insolvency proposal. Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a position paper on the application of international law in cyberspace.

Since the times of Rod Beckstrom, ICANN has stayed far away from mainstream religion. There is, however, one document that acquired a quasi-religious status: RFC 1591. 

This month, this document turned 30 years old. Titled "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation”, it established the DNS as a global, distributed, and scalable system for managing domain names. By setting the foundational policies for top level domain name registration and delegation, it has significantly contributed to the stability and functionality of the internet. Most importantly for ccTLDs, it truly globalised the DNS by allowing policies for each ccTLD to be set locally and therefore be adapted to local needs and regulations. 

After almost 6 years of the EPDP process to address EU GDPR compliance, the ICANN community unlocked a milestone, and the Registration Data Consensus Policy was (finally) published on 21 February. Is the work on data protection vs access to registration data over? Can a sparkling wine from a certain French region be opened (not mentioning a protected geographical indication to be on the safe side)? Not quite yet. New expectations are raised and future work for the community is on the horizon.

Brussels, 14 March 2024 – CENTR, the association of European national top-level domain name registries (ccTLDs), publishes a set of recommendations to amend the EU Financial Data Access Regulation proposal, alerting policymakers to the irreversible impact of the proposed domain-level enforcement actions on European consumers and businesses.

In a nutshell: The European Commission has published a white paper on digital infrastructure needs and a recommendation on secure submarine cable infrastructure. Members of the European Parliament adopted the Regulation on Geographical indication protection for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, and suggested further amendments to the Framework for Financial Data Access. The European Data Protection Board issued an opinion on the main establishment of a controller under the GDPR. The EU Member States, supported by ENISA and the NIS coordination group, published a report on the cybersecurity and resilience of communications infrastructure. The European Court of Human Rights ruled on encryption in private communications. The German government issued a strategy for international digital policy. The Digital Services Act is now applicable to all intermediaries.

The latest CENTRstats TLD Market Report has been published. It covers the global status and registration trends in all top-level domains (legacy gTLDs, new gTLDs and ccTLDs), with a specific focus on the European ccTLD market, and includes analysis and predictions on the wider technological and societal forces that could influence domain name registrations throughout 2024 and beyond.

The landscape of Internet governance has long been shaped by the ongoing discourse surrounding the "multistakeholder approach". Amid complex discussions of what even constitutes the multistakeholder approach, the concept has evolved into a dynamic force, influencing decisions about the Internet's use, operation, and policies. As we stand at a crossroads in the global debate, with widespread concern about the general commitment to multistakeholder Internet governance and its adequacy, it is crucial to provide a comprehensive exploration of the intricacies surrounding this approach, emphasising its historical significance, and addressing current concerns.