DotConnectAfrica attends Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) CBC TECH 2020 Launch, Updates on dotAfrica IRP Status

DotConnectAfrica Trust joined, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) at the launch of CBC TECH 2020, at Madison Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue Washington, DC  20540.The new initiative is aimed at engaging the tech sector in increasing African-American representation and inclusion in the industry. The Founder of DCA Trust Ms. Bekele later held meetings …

Appeals Court Rules that NSA Collection Of Phone Data Is Illegal

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that the National Security Agency’s routine mass collection of Americans’ phone records and metadata is unlawful. The three judges ruled that the NSA’s use of phone records “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized” under the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was initially intended as a counterterrorism …

Draft Policy to censor internet in South Africa called out as ‘unconstitutional’

The Right2Know Campaign has issued a statement in response to the South African Film & Publication Board’s (FPB) recent draft policy proposing to regulate online content in the country, rejecting the plan as “unnecessary censorship” and “unconstitutional”. The policy claims that regulation of online content is the prerogative of the FPB, as a purported means …

Senators Hatch and Blunt call for more awareness on issues of Internet governance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, and Sen. Roy Blunt, member of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced a resolution Tuesday to increase awareness of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announced intention to transition its stewardship role over the Internet’s domain name system to the global community. …

IpJustice: Civil Society Cautions Against ICANN Proposal to Give Governments a Veto Over New Domains Using “Geographic Names”

A group of twenty-four civil society organizations and individuals today submitted a joint statement regarding a proposal from an ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) sub-group on the use of “geographic names” in top-level domains.  The joint civil society statement cautioned against the adoption of the GAC proposal that would give governments veto power on domains …

ICANN Denies Allegation That New gTLD Have Increased Phishing & Malware Sites

According to a company blog post out today, by brand protection company CSC, citing Amy Mushahwar, counsel and Chief Information Security Officer at Washington, D.C. law firm ZwillGen PLLC, says: “New domains (new gTLD’s) are being registered as phishing sites and for drive-by downloads of malware.”….“Nefarious uses have been very widespread. It’s incumbent upon ICANN …

Ip-Watch: ITU Plenipot 14 Outcome Limiting UN Agency Role In Internet Governance Deemed “Success”

  By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch US Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda on the eve of the final celebration of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference last week said he was “happy” about the results. Asked what he thought was the most important resolution of the three week conference, he told Intellectual Property Watch …