From: Damaged Justice <frogfarm@yakko.cs.wmich.edu>
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 12:13:29 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Network Solutions sued for antitrust violation
Message-ID: <199709220406.AAA06002@yakko.cs.wmich.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text




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Uncle Sam Sued Over Net Control

   ****Uncle Sam Sued Over Net Control 09/19/97 WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
   1997 SEP 19 (NB) -- By Bob Woods. First, New York City-based PGMedia
   took on Herndon, Virginia-based Network Solutions Inc. (NSI) over that
   company's control over Internet domain name registrations - now
   PGMedia said it is adding the US government to the defendant column of
   the suit, in the form of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
   PGMedia wants to compete with NSI in the domain name registration
   game.
   
   PGMedia, which is also known as "name.space," charges both defendants
   with violating US antitrust laws, saying that neither party has the
   authority "to restrict or forestall the complete opening of the Domain
   Name Registration market." Company officials said the NSF has
   "injected" itself into the domain name dispute by claiming on behalf
   of the US government that it controls the domain name system.
   
   PGMedia said it "steadfastly believes that the National Science
   Foundation has no authority to restrict or forestall the complete
   opening of the domain name registration market." Company officials
   said that even if the NSF did have control, its actions "have the
   clear effect of limiting freedom of expression in the first and
   foremost avenue of speech on the Internet -- the domain name."
   
   An NSF official told Newsbytes that the Foundation did not have an
   immediate comment on the suit or the situation.
   
   PGMedia first took legal action against NSI last March, after NSI
   refused PGMedia's request that reference to the name.space name
   servers be added to the root zone file, PGMedia officials said. That
   suit sought to, among other things, compel NSI to add the name.space
   top level domains (TLDs) and name servers to the root zone file. After
   several discussions with PGMedia and its counsel, PGMedia said NSI
   proposed allowing unlimited TLDs -- but only if the NSF had no
   objection.
   
   NSI is in a five-year contract with NSF to provide domain name
   services, Newsbytes notes.
   
   PGMedia said that the NSF has no more of a place in this debate than
   any other interested party, and should not act to arbitrarily limit
   speech in the top level name space even if it did.
   
   In June and August of this year, the NSF informed NSI that it
   controlled the root zone file, and that it could not let NSI comply
   with Federal and state antitrust laws in granting PGMedia's request,
   PGMedia said.
   
   PGMedia's goals in the case include bringing the US government's
   "arbitrary restriction" of the top level name space to an end, and to
   bring the issue of "who ultimately controls the global Internet" to a
   "court of competent jurisdiction," in the form of the US Federal
   District Court in the Southern District of New York.
   
   (19970919/Press Contacts: PGMedia, 212-219-1415; Bill Noxon, National
   Science Foundation, 703-306-1070/Reported By Newsbytes News Network:
   [3]http://www.newsbytes.com /WWWDOME/PHOTO)
   
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