<div dir="auto">Dear Shiva,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thanks again for the message. I want to respond clearly on one point: NCSG has never opposed DNS abuse mitigation. Nowhere in the HRIA we say DNS abuse mitigation should not happen. We’ve agreed to urgent disclosure categories, authentication work with law enforcement, and action against phishing and CSAM. Some activists are affected by phishing attacks done by nation states (the very law enforcement that is supposedly there to protect), so we work on combating phishing and some of our members work on children rights. </div><div dir="auto"><div><div>
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<p dir="auto">I don’t think it’s accurate to say we’re “one-sided.” Our role isn’t to constantly compromise to appear “balanced.” Our role is to hold the line on rights. That’s the contribution we make in this system.</p>
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<p dir="auto">The idea that there are two sides to human rights, privacy on one side and dignity or justice on the other doesn’t sit right with me. Human rights don’t work like that. They’re interconnected. And we’re not forgetting one side we’re insisting that any mechanism claiming to solve these harms be rights-respecting from the start. </p>
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<p dir="auto">Also, we need to be very clear about what DNS abuse mitigation can and can’t do. Yes, CSAM should be taken down immediately—registrars and registries already are legally obligated to do that. But things like gender-based violence aren’t even always DNS issues. Trying to solve them through technical enforcement tools risks creating systems that don’t help victims and also undermine rights.</p>
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<p dir="auto">So no I don’t think the burden is on us to be more “balanced.” Governments need to support solutions that are actually effective and don’t encroach on rights. We’re here to make sure those positions don’t come at the expense of fundamental freedoms.</p>
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</div>I will make it clear in our HRIA that we are not against DNS abuse mitigation and debunk that myth. <br clear="all"><br clear="all"><div dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Farzaneh </font></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Sep 21, 2025 at 2:05 PM Shiva Upadhyay <<a href="mailto:shiva.upadhyay@yahoo.com">shiva.upadhyay@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204)"><div><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Dear Farzaneh,</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Thank you for your thoughtful response. I greatly value the long-standing efforts of NCSG in ensuring that human rights, digital freedoms, and safeguards remain central to ICANN’s work. Your reminder that “safety solutions” can sometimes fail victims while also undermining rights is an important caution, and one that should not be ignored.</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">At the same time, I feel that a balanced approach is essential. From what we see in courts and through law enforcement, the realities of victims, particularly women and children facing online exploitation, are very stark. Anonymity is often weaponized to perpetuate abuse, and governments are held accountable in courts when they cannot act. In underserved regions, where families cannot afford legal services, the absence of timely remedies makes the harm even more devastating.</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Therefore, our role should not be to dismiss GAC’s concerns outright, but rather to acknowledge where they raise valid issues (such as accuracy, urgent disclosures, and RDRS participation), while also pressing for checks, balances, and procedural safeguards. By doing this, we ensure both victim protection and registrant rights are addressed.</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">I believe our submissions can say: <em style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">“Yes, these issues are important and need to be addressed, but the solutions must incorporate due process, proportionality, and remedies for registrants.”</em> Such language would strengthen NCSG’s credibility as a user-centric group that recognizes <strong style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">both sets of human rights, </strong>those of registrants seeking privacy, and those of vulnerable users seeking dignity and justice.</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">This balanced framing, in my view, can help build a more constructive relationship with the GAC and other SOs/ACs, and avoid the perception that NCSG is one-sided. In the end, we all want the same thing: an Internet that is both safe and rights-respecting.</p>
<p style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Warm regards,<br>
Shiva Upadhyay</p></div><br></div><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div>
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On Sunday 21 September, 2025 at 09:57:27 pm IST, farzaneh badii <<a href="mailto:farzaneh.badii@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">farzaneh.badii@gmail.com</a>> wrote:
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<div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div id="m_3561089701979541258yiv1450134251" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Dear Shiva, </div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><p style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">NCSG’s positions come from years of advocating for human rights and pushing back against overreach in the name of safety and protection of intellectual property rights. Many of our members also work on online safety, but they join NCSG because they see that too often “safety solutions” fail to protect victims while undermining digital rights.</p>
<p style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">We are not saying DNS abuse should not be mitigated. We are saying: don’t rush into measures that put rights at risk, and where restrictions are needed, there must be remedies and safeguards. In fact, on several of the issues you raise, NCSG has constructively engaged through PDPs. We have supported urgent request categories and even worked with law enforcement to strengthen authentication, provided this is done transparently and in a rights-respecting way. </p>
<p style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">What we cannot do is dilute our message by advocating for mechanisms that lack safeguards, that pose clear human rights risks, and that in many cases do not even solve the underlying safety problems. The recent GAC Communiqué does not mention human rights/access to remedy a single time. That silence is precisely why NCSG’s role is so critical.</p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Best regards, </div><br clear="all"></div><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">Farzaneh </font></div></div></div></div><br clear="none"></div><br clear="none"><div id="m_3561089701979541258yiv1450134251yqt71825" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">On Sun, Sep 21, 2025 at 8:41 AM Shiva Upadhyay <<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="mailto:shiva.upadhyay@yahoo.com" target="_blank" style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">shiva.upadhyay@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br clear="none"></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204)"><div style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Dear Friends,</p>
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">I would like to share what my team of lawyers and I are witnessing every day. We are closely following court proceedings, remaining in continuous touch with law enforcement agencies, and engaging directly with victims and their families.</p>
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Every day, we see the enormous challenges that arise when victims seek justice. Courts are under pressure to respond swiftly, yet perpetrators exploit loopholes by registering new domains almost overnight. Law enforcement struggles with incomplete or inaccurate WHOIS information, leaving them unable to track abusers effectively. Behind these systemic gaps are real people—parents in tears, young girls forced to abandon school, families whose lives are disrupted by relentless online abuse.</p>
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">While human rights and privacy must always be respected, we cannot ignore how anonymity is being misused as a shield for cybercriminals. In sensitive cases, such as child abuse, sexual exploitation, and morphing of images, the urgency of accurate and verified information cannot be overstated. Courts are ordering takedowns, yet without stronger obligations on registrars and intermediaries, the cycle simply repeats.</p>
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Our collective responsibility is to find the right balance: protecting fundamental rights while ensuring that victims are not left helpless, and that LEAs and courts have the tools to deliver timely justice. A few suggestions we need to keep in mind while submitting our response: <br clear="none"><br clear="none"></p><h2 style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">1. <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Expanded Law Enforcement Access (RDRS)</strong></h2><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">NCSG Position:</strong><br clear="none">
Law enforcement’s increased use of the RDRS is framed as the normalization of access without safeguards. Mandatory registrar participation is seen as a rights risk.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Rebuttal:</strong><br clear="none">
This framing disregards governments’ real legal obligations. Courts hold governments accountable when law enforcement cannot trace cybercriminals. In India alone, thousands of <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">cases involving domain names distributing morphed images of girls</strong> have been filed. Victims’ parents have testified in court while perpetrators exploit anonymity. Registrars’ refusal to comply leaves governments unable to enforce judicial orders.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Balanced Position:</strong></p><ul style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><li style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Mandatory RDRS participation is essential, but <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">tiered safeguards</strong> should apply.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Urgent categories (child sexual abuse, gender-based crimes, imminent harm) require fast disclosure.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">For non-urgent cases, safeguards such as <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">registrant notice, public reporting, and appeal rights</strong> should apply.</p>
</li></ul><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">This balances registrant privacy with victims’ right to dignity and remedy.</p><h2 style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">2. <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Urgent Requests for Disclosure (24-Hour Timeline)</strong></h2><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">NCSG Position:</strong><br clear="none">
A 24-hour disclosure timeline lacks legal thresholds and risks misuse by repressive regimes.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Rebuttal:</strong><br clear="none">
The assumption ignores that <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">delays in disclosure directly harm children and women</strong>. Courts order blocking or tracing within hours. Perpetrators reappear the next day with new domains (<em style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">example1, example2</em>). Without timely data, law enforcement cannot prevent ongoing abuse. Governments are answerable to courts, not abstract safeguards alone.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Balanced Position:</strong></p><ul style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><li style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Urgent disclosure timelines must remain, but paired with <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">authentication of LEA requests</strong> and <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">post-facto audit trails</strong>.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Safeguards should prevent political misuse, but not at the cost of <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">child safety and gender justice</strong>.</p>
</li></ul><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">The higher human right is to protect minors from irreversible harm.</p><h2 style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">3. <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Accuracy of Registration Data</strong></h2><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">NCSG Position:</strong><br clear="none">
Shorter verification windows risk undermining anonymity; the distinction between contractability and identity is overlooked.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Rebuttal:</strong><br clear="none">
This overlooks how abusers weaponize <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">fake or stolen contact data</strong>. When WHOIS contains unreachable numbers or disposable emails, investigations stall. Courts expect verified contactability. Without it, registrars enable criminal impunity.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Balanced Position:</strong></p><ul style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><li style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Support <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">minimum verification standards</strong> (email + phone validation, periodic rechecks).</p>
</li><li style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Clarify distinction: accuracy ensures <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">contactability</strong>, not mandatory identity disclosure.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">For high-risk categories (financial services, bulk registrations), stricter verification may be justified.</p>
</li></ul><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Accuracy strengthens both consumer trust and abuse mitigation, while still protecting pseudonymity in low-risk contexts.</p><h2 style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">4. <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">DNS Abuse Mitigation</strong></h2><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">NCSG Position:</strong><br clear="none">
GAC’s focus on enforcement risks overbroad takedowns and neglects civil society safeguards.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Rebuttal:</strong><br clear="none">
Governments daily confront systemic abuse: morphed images of girls, financial scams, and child exploitation. <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Anonymity is repeatedly misused as a shield.</strong> Thousands of women have lost dignity and trust in digital spaces. Dismissing enforcement undermines the <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">right to dignity, protection from exploitation, and access to remedy</strong> under UDHR/ICCPR/CRC.</p><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Balanced Position:</strong></p><ul style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><li style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Enforcement must be rapid for <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">child abuse, gender violence, and large-scale fraud</strong>.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Safeguards should exist for small registrants and dissenting voices, including <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">appeals, contestation mechanisms, and transparency reporting</strong>.</p>
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<p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">ICANN should enable <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">joint mechanisms</strong> (governments + NGOs + civil society) to prevent misuse while ensuring proportionality.</p></li></ul><h2 style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Conclusion</strong></h2><p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
</p><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">NCSG’s draft emphasizes registrant rights but <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">misses the other half of the human rights equation, </strong>the rights of women, children, and families devastated by unchecked domain abuse. Governments cannot ignore court orders or parental pleas. ICANN must take the <strong style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">higher ground</strong>: enable rapid enforcement in abuse cases while embedding due process safeguards. Privacy is vital, but so is dignity, justice, and protection from exploitation.</div></div><br clear="none"></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Thanks & Regards,</div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Shiva Upadhyay</div>
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On Saturday 20 September, 2025 at 01:55:09 am IST, farzaneh badii <<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="mailto:farzaneh.badii@gmail.com" target="_blank" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">farzaneh.badii@gmail.com</a>> wrote:
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<div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div id="m_3561089701979541258yiv1450134251m_-8113854382084941966yiv3487516010" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Hi all,</div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Here is our second HRIA on GAC communique: <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k32oTjH2bg2Gd5hEUExn6BoJZ89HluC3_vPDkks4vfg/edit?tab=t.0" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k32oTjH2bg2Gd5hEUExn6BoJZ89HluC3_vPDkks4vfg/edit?tab=t.0</a> </div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Please comment so that we finalize it and submit it to them and bring it up during our GAC meeting.</div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">We are aiming to finalize by Wednesday next week. </div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Best regards, </div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br clear="none"></div><br clear="all"></div><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><font face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(38,40,42)">Farzaneh </font></div></div></div></div></div>
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