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id="docs-internal-guid-0493cefd-cb71-3da6-7776-1f27686b15f7">
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style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The .cat evolution is something I’ve followed for over a decade. As a proponent of city TLDs and an advocate for the .nyc TLD, the process that enabled .cat’s issuance intrigued me.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The ICANN perspective on .cat’s issuance was cogently expressed by Vint, “ICANN asked the governments of spain and andorra whether they had any objections and both responded that they did not object.” Today, as the Iberian Peninsular smoulders, I’ll comment only on the .cat issuance process, noting that ‘non-objection’ is too weak a form of approval.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Having witnessed how ill-prepared New York City was for the development of the .nyc TLD, I’ve urged over the past few years at several ICANN fora that ‘informed consent’ be adopted as the standard for approval of geographic and cultural TLDs. Seemingly to little avail. </span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The .cat situation makes it apparent that ICANN is playing with fire when they issue geographic and cultural TLDs. Had they not been distracted fighting various wars, I suspect .Kurds would have been issued and now be playing a central role in a new regional realignment, with its impact measured by battlefield statistics. </span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">If ICANN can't institute responsible issuance standards for geographic and cultural TLDs, perhaps its time to remove these life and death digital resources from its purview.
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Tom Lowenhaupt
</span></p>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/22/2017 11:43 AM, Dan York wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:88663699-4D46-4E45-BC3F-5005ADF865E3@isoc.org">
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<div class="">Chapter delegates,</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">FYI, yesterday we published a statement expressing
our concern about measures taken in Spain to block access to
certain websites and, perhaps more concerning, to require a
top-level domain (TLD) operator to engage in content
monitoring and blocking. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">This is a tense time politically in Spain with an
independence referendum having been called for October 1 in
the Catalonia region which the central Spanish government
views as illegal. We do not want to get involved in the
politics of the situation, but are concerned by the manner in
which the Internet is being restricted. As we have repeatedly
stated, we do not see Internet blocking / shutdowns as
effective measures and believe they cause far more collateral
damage to the economy and society. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Please do note that in developing this statement
Frédéric Donck and his European Bureau team did interact
directly with ISOC Catalonia Chapter leaders to understand the
situation there.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Please do read and share our statement:</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/news/statements/2017/internet-society-statement-internet-blocking-measures-catalonia-spain/"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/news/statements/2017/internet-society-statement-internet-blocking-measures-catalonia-spain/</a></div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/es/news/declarationes/2017/declaracion-de-internet-society-sobre-medidas-de-bloqueo-de-internet-en-cataluna-espana/"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/es/news/declarationes/2017/declaracion-de-internet-society-sobre-medidas-de-bloqueo-de-internet-en-cataluna-espana/</a>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Shared on social at:</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><a
href="https://twitter.com/internetsociety/status/910995196405518336"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://twitter.com/internetsociety/status/910995196405518336</a></div>
<div class=""><a
href="https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/posts/10154627959548239"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/posts/10154627959548239</a><br
class="">
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Regards,</div>
<div class="">Dan</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps:
normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans:
auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform:
none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width:
0px;">--<br class="">
Dan York<br class="">
Senior Manager, Content & Web Strategy, Internet Society<br
class="">
<a href="mailto:york@isoc.org" class="" moz-do-not-send="true">york@isoc.org</a>
+1-802-735-1624 <br class="">
Jabber: <a href="mailto:york@jabber.isoc.org" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">york@jabber.isoc.org</a>
Skype: danyork <a href="http://twitter.com/danyork"
class="" moz-do-not-send="true">http://twitter.com/danyork</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
<a href="http://www.internetsociety.org/" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">http://www.internetsociety.org/</a></div>
</div>
<br class="">
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
Chapter Portal (AMS): <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://portal.isoc.org">https://portal.isoc.org</a></pre>
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