What beats me is why we do not have more outrage on these issues. I guess we have resigned ourselves, for the issue is not about today but the kind of situation we will find ourselves in 5 years from now as norms shift.

best

Dorothy K. Gordon
Director-General
Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT
Mobile: 233 265005712
Direct Line: 233 302 683579
Website: www.aiti-kace.com.gh
Encrypt Everything - https://gpgtools.org https://silentcircle.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robin Gross" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, 15 July, 2013 5:08:52 PM GMT +00:00 Casablanca / Monrovia
Subject: ICANN Thumbs Its Nose at National Data Protection Authorities - Refuses to Comply with Privacy Laws Protecting Citizens


Wow. I was wondering how ICANN would try to circumvent the data protection authorities of Europe, but it really takes some brass for this private corporation (ICANN) to claim Article 29WP lacks the competent legal authority to interpret their own laws (and protect the rights of their citizens). ICANN's continued flouting of the privacy laws in many parts of the world is particularly troubling these days.... 


http://domainincite.com/13724-icann-says-article-29-letter-does-not-give-eu-registrars-privacy-opt-out 


ICANN says Article 29 letter does not give EU registrars privacy opt-out 

Kevin Murphy , July 15, 2013, 09:24:30 (UTC), Domain Policy 

Registrars based in the European Union won’t immediately be able to opt out of “illegal” data retention provisions in the new 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement, according to ICANN. 

ICANN VP Cyrus Namazi on Saturday told the Governmental Advisory Committee that a recent letter from the Article 29 Working Party, which comprises the data protection authorities of EU member states, is “not a legal authority”. 

Article 29 told ICANN last month that the RAA’s provisions requiring registrars to hold registrant data for two years after the domain expires were “illegal” . 

While the RAA allows registrars to opt out of clauses that would be illegal for them to comply with, they can only do so with the confirmation of an adequate legal opinion. 

The Article 29 letter was designed to give EU registrars that legal opinion across the board. 

But according to Namazi, the letter does not meet the test. In response to a question from the Netherlands, he told the GAC: 



We accept it from being an authority, but it’s not a legal authority, is our interpretation of it. That it actually has not been adopted into legislation by the EU. When and if it becomes adopted then of course there are certain steps to ensure that our contracted parties are in line with — in compliance with it. But we look at them as an authority but not a legal authority at this stage. 

It seems that when the privacy watchdogs of the entire European Union tell ICANN that it is in violation of EU privacy law, that’s not taken as an indication that it is in fact in violation of EU privacy law. 

The European Commission representative on the GAC expressed concern about this development during Saturday’s session, which took place at ICANN 47 in Durban, South Africa.