The Recording Industry Association of America has a new enemy. The organization, which has a long history of reacting, pre-acting, and overacting to the threat of piracy, has some stern words for ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers–the organization that controls top-level domains) new .Music TLD proposal.
The RIAA is worried that such a domain might become a breeding ground for music piracy. The organization wrote a letter to ICANN, in hopes that it would help “ensure best practices are developed” around the proposed domain.
“We strongly urge you to take these concerns seriously,” wrote RIAA lawyer Victoria Sheckler. “We prefer a practical solution to these issues, and hope to avoid the need to escalate the issue further.” Sheckler and co. don’t really detail what “escalation” might entail, but it will no doubt involve a whole lot of letter writing.
The RIAA’s complaints largely revolve around the organization’s inability to monitor and “take action” against potential piracy. “By sharply curtailing the transparency requirement, ICANN has effectively blocked out ability to use this information to assess when or how to comment on the fitness of the applicant or the sufficiency of safeguards against malicious conduct, leaving us, and the rest of the public in the dark.”
I know it’s legalese, but man, there’s something creepy about the phrase “the fitness of the applicant,” isn’t there?
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