[Ecommerce] 2 stories: Will the ZA subdomains go dark? and controversial ebill

[Manon Ress]

FYI:
>From Business Day (South Africa) 3 June 2002

State's plan on internet domain names raises alarm Political
Correspondent CAPE TOWN A proposal by the parliamentary communications
committee to establish a section 21 company to manage domain names on
the internet in SA has raised alarm bells about a looming crisis that
could see all internet connections in the country cut off.

Supported by the communications department and the African National
Congress, the proposals in the Electronic Communications and
Transactions Bill on setting up a domain name authority are vehemently
opposed by opposition parties and the current administrator of the ZA
domain.

The committee plans to finalise and vote on the bill today . Much of the
chapter on the domain names was approved and voted on Friday but could
be discussed again today. Government is opposed to the current
administrative system for the ZA domain name, which it says is
"monopolistic" and without a regulatory framework to manage the expected
explosive growth of the internet.

Communications chairman Nkenke Kekana said that the domain name
authority had to be "representative, accountable to all South Africans
and proactive in promoting the internet".
In terms of the bill, the communications minister would appoint a panel
which would recommend nominated candidates to be appointed to the board
of a section 21 firm.

But domain name administrator Mike Lawrie, who is one of the cochairmen
of Namespace ZA, which will take over the administration in future, has
objected to the excessive powers the minister would wield over the
domain name system in SA.

Lawrie said this was "quite unacceptable". He warned of a "national
disaster", saying he would not hand over the administration if
government interference in the internet was provided for in law.

If Lawrie refused to get himself licensed as required by the bill, this
would mean he could no longer continue operating and that the
administration of the ZA domain name would collapse.
This would mean that normal internet and e-mail connections would no
longer function.

"The vast majority of internet connections in and into this country will
simply not happen, because the ZA domain name servers will grind to a
halt and make all subdomains of ZA totally unreachable," Lawrie said.

The gov.za domain name would also not work. "Parliament cannot pass
legislation and expect that the internet will kowtow to that
legislation. It does not work that way. The legislation must in keeping
with the standards of the internet, or it will lead to problems.

"There are very clear standards laid down for how a redelegation of a
country code domain shall take place," he said. For the redelegation to
meet international standards laid down by the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers there has to be agreement between Lawrie, as
the present administrator, government, and significant interested
parties.

Democratic Alliance communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts said the bill
"bald-facedly expropriates" the existing domain name authority. She
rejected government's rationale for a new administrative system, saying
a domain name authority did not and could not roll out services.

AND

Controversial ECT Bill discussions come to an end
BY PHILLIP DE WET, ITWEB NEWS EDITOR

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2002/0206031206.asp?O=TE

[Johannesburg, 3 June 2002] - Parliament's Portfolio Committee on
Communications is to  conclude its discussions on the Electronic
Communications and Transactions (ECT) Bill today, and a final draft of
the law is to come to a vote on Friday.

Although a final draft with the amendments made by the committee is not
yet available, many of the more controversial elements of the Bill are
expected to remain unchanged. These include registration of cryptography
providers and government control of the .za domain name system.

The Bill has come to sudden public notice because of the latter. On
Friday the Democratic Alliance issued a statement that SA faces the
"possibility  of being isolated - literally cut off - from the World
Wide Web"because  of the Bill.

In its initial published form, the ECT Bill in great detail describes
how a government body is to be set up to handle the .za domain system.
The body would be controlled by communications minister Ivy
Matsepe-Casaburri  through a board of directors appointed by her.

During the weekend, Andile Ngcaba, director-general of the Department of
Communications, said an amended version would see an intermediary panel
inserted into the process. The minister would appoint the independent 
panel, which would in turn appoint the directors of the domain
authority.

But current .za administrator Mike Lawrie, who has controlled the domain
since its inception, has vowed not to hand control over to a government
he believes not technically capable of handling the fragile system. He
has warned that domain names, and e-mail addresses, that use the popular
.co.za suffix could "go dark" due to improper management.

Lawrie has, since 1998, been involved in setting up an organisation to
take over from him. Such a body, Namespace SA, was formed in September
last  year. Government was invited to participate in the body and
appoint representatives to its board, but declined.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which
is responsible for globally overseeing the domain name system, requires
the consent of the current administrator for any re-delegation of
responsibility.

Cryptography, digital signatures

Another provision that has drawn fire is a requirement that any 
cryptography product used in SA be registered with the Department of 
Communications, so that the vendor can assist law enforcement officials
in  cracking encryption when needed.

Anyone supplying a cryptography product not registered would face a
prison sentence of up to two years.

Cryptography experts have pointed out that many pieces of popular
software, such as the Windows operating systems and most Linux
distributions, are packaged with or contain embedded cryptography
software.

The Bill, in its draft form, differentiates between traditional digital
signatures and "advanced electronic signatures", digital signatures that
would be officially recognised by government. While the Bill would give
digital documentation legal recognition equal to that of paper
documents, advanced signatures would have to be used where the law
requires a
signature.

The differentiation has been criticised by some, but welcomed by Mark
Shuttleworth, whose company Thawte issued digital signatures through a
"web of trust".

"It is important to have a diversity of models," Shuttleworth says,
predicting that regulated signature systems may become inflexible, but
an unregulated market will continue developing dynamically.

It is expected that an amendment will be passed that will see the Post
Office become a major player in digital signatures. To be issued with an
advanced digital signature, a Post Office employee would have to verify
the identity of the user face-to-face. The system used by Thawte allows
three trusted individuals to vouch for the identify of an applicant, who
once
accredited can himself then vouch for further applicants.

The ECT Bill must still go the National Assembly, which is expected to
pass it unchanged, and the National Council of Provinces, which has the
power to reject or amend it. It is due to be signed into law by
president Thabo Mbeki in early July.




-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Essential Information
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