Nominet suspends 'single digit' number of Russian dot-UK domain registrars
- Reference: 1647345752
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/03/15/nominet_suspends_russian_registrars/
- Source link:
Suspension will prevent the registrars from managing or renewing dot-UK domains that they own or control.
"We are not accepting registrations from registrars in Russia – we are suspending the relevant tags. To avoid compromising outlets for expression outside the control of the regime, the very small number of domains with Russian address details will continue to operate as normal," said the organisation in a [1]statement on its website.
[2]
The news has not gone down well within some in the member-led organisation, which operates the dot-UK registry as a government-sanctioned monopoly. We are told by informed sources that there is a single-digit number of active Russian registrars in Nominet's ranks, managing around a score of domains.
[3]
[4]
It is unclear what impact, if any, the suspension of registrar tags will have either on Russian organisations helping their country's invasion of Ukraine or in boosting Ukrainian morale.
"There's nothing to stop a Russian registrar simply registering domains via a reseller for example so it doesn't actually achieve anything," one informed source told El Reg .
[5]Whose side you on, Nominet? Registry floods .co.uk owners with begging emails to renew unwanted .uk domains
[6]Nominet names new CEO as new chair promises real reform
[7]Faced with the sack, Nominet CEO half-apologizes for taking the 'wrong tone,' asks angry members to hear him out
[8]Nominet is back to 'the same old sh*t' says Public Benefit campaign chief as EGM actions grind to halt
RIPE NCC, the regional network coordination centre, said last week that it would not go ahead with Ukraine's request to withdraw IPv4 and IPv6 addresses from Russian entities, [9]saying "we cannot take such action unilaterally."
It continued: "We further believe that internet number resource registrations should not be used as a means to enforce political outcomes, and that doing so would have serious implications for the internet, not just in the Russian Federation but also for the rest of the world."
[10]
In a statement Nominet representatives told The Register : "Domains linked to Russian based registrants will operate as normal, in keeping with the internet being as open as possible.
"We have taken the decision that due to the extraordinary circumstances, we do not want to profit from commercial arrangements or investments in Russia at this time. We have made a significant donation to the humanitarian aid effort."
Nominet non-executive director Simon Blackler, who played a vocal part in [11]efforts to make Nominet more accountable to its membership and the wider public , didn't answer The Register 's questions when contacted for comment.
[12]
A DCMS spokeswoman said: "Nominet is a private company and its operations are a matter for Nominet and its members, however we welcome the actions it and other businesses are taking in response to this crisis."
The move may or may not provoke retaliation from Russia. While some may compare it to the London Internet Exchange ( [13]Linx ) announcing last Friday (11 March) that it would stop peering traffic with certain Russian entities, those at least were subject to formal sanctions. Unlike the luckless Russians who bought dot-UK domains. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.nominet.uk/an-update-on-ukraine/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YjDGPE0aUJgEYqhF6lricAAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YjDGPE0aUJgEYqhF6lricAAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YjDGPE0aUJgEYqhF6lricAAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/16/nominet_dot_uk_renewals/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/19/nominet_names_new_ceo_paul_fletcher/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/09/nominet_ceo_appeal/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/23/nominet_public_benefit_simon_blackler_letter/
[9] https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/announcements/ripe-ncc-response-to-request-from-ukrainian-government
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YjDGPE0aUJgEYqhF6lricAAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/22/nominet_board_sacked/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YjDGPE0aUJgEYqhF6lricAAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://twitter.com/woodyatpch/status/1502257208347615235/photo/1
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Nothing to see here, move along
This action has almost no impact on the "luckless Russians who bought dot-UK domains". They'll still have them and their DNS entries will still work. From that PoV, nothing has happened. These registrants won't be able to *change* their delegations or contact info or update their registratons because Nominet has suspended the Russian-based registrars who would be involved in those registry transactions. This is no big deal unless the registrants need to switch name servers or their UK domain names are up for renewal soon.
Besides, I doubt uk domain name issues will be a top priority for Russia's oligarchs and kleptocrats at the moment.
What is strange though is the lack of openness and transparency about Nominet's action. Who proposed this and why? Was it discussed and decided by the board? When? Maybe it's a side-effect of the financial sanctions and that's made it difficult or illegal to do business with Russia.
Incidentally Nominet say they had £100K invested in Russia and are offloading that. Hmm...
https://www.nominet.uk/an-update-on-ukraine/
Location
The .UK ccTLD as run by Nominet is (unlike LINX or RIPE) a monopoly and it used to be neutral until this event.
The biggest impact of this decision is to UK and Nominets future; not RU or UA.
Should we now expect Nominet to block services to Chinese, Israeli, UAE and other international registrars? Or does Nominet only censor nations of registrars when the diversity matches that of their board members / those whom DCMS considers non grata?
Nominet registrars should TAKE NOTE, Nominet CAN and will END your business with just 30 days notice for ANY reason it or the government so chooses.
Re: Location
Yeah, that's obviously why people like RIPE are staying well out of it. As soon as you take action once it becomes a lot harder to say no when others make similar requests in future.
You can't argue an inability due to technical reasons, since now someone can say "but you did it for Russia vs Ukraine!". So now rather than a simple "We won't do X ever", it becomes "We'll only do X in specific situations", and any time in the future you choose to say no you're saying that you've chosen a side, rather than simply sticking to a simple policy.
Re: Location
The technical reasons don't come into it. Not that ICANN or RIPE NCC could do much if they had the power to act. Which they don't. Unless their respective national authorities tell them. Or their policy-making fora reach consensus on a course of action.
ICANN's CEO clearly explained the geopolitical facts of life. There's just no way they'd act on the say so of one foreign politician (who has no jurisdiction over them) to somehow damage the Internet resources or connectivity used by yet another country. That would open up a much bigger shit-storm than the one you point out. Imagine the fun if the Norks (say) demanded and got ICANN to remove .com or .kr.
BTW, why isn't +7 getting targeted for removal in the way that .ru is?
Re: Location
There's no need to shout! Nominet's registrars already know Nominet can terminate or suspend their contracts. Or they bloody well should know that. It's in the registry-registrar agreement they signed:
7.5 We may put this Contract into Special Status, or otherwise suspend the provision by us of or remove access to any of our services, if any action you take as a Registrar is, or in our reasonable opinion is likely to, lead to criminal or civil liability for us or any of our officers or staff members.
FWIW there's an independent appeals procedure if Nominet does pull the plug like this.
If the government chooses to do something, there's fuck all anyone can do about that. Apart from a judicial review or giving a bung (sorry donation) to whoever is in power. Or hope an election results in a new government which undoes the previous one's fuckwittery. That's true everywhere. Anyone in business knows this too just has to accept that risk.
PS It's more likely to be productive raising your concerns about Nominet censorship at their AGM or an EGM instead of whining here.
blowing raspberries
We have random companies imposing random sanctions (IT and otherwise) on random other companies with supposed links to Russia.
Nobody seems to be giving any thought to whether these sanctions have any effect, or whether there might be some other course of action that would be more effective.
This really just amounts to blowing raspberries (not even Pis) at Putin.
Supposedly we are fighting an economic war, because it's far too risky to fight a shooting war.
But we have no economic generals capable of planning that war.
Where was Nominet when the USA murdered 1,000,000 Iraqis?
Busy profiting from commercial arrangements.
Registry, registrar. potato...
"Nominet, the dot-UK domain registrar"
Registry, not registrar... there is a difference!