CENTR, which is an association representing mostly European based country code domain name registries, has published a paper on online content, specifically matters related to alleged “illegal” content.
The paper, entitled “Domain Name Registries and Online Content”, explores how registries, registrars, hosting providers and content interact. It underlines, for example, that the domain name is not content, but merely a way to “reach” it. Removing the domain name does not remove the content.
The paper also includes some very good explanations of how the various parts of the internet infrastructure interact and work, like this graphic:
Over the past couple of years domain registrars and registries have been coming under increased pressure to regulate content, so this document’s publication is quite timely, as it helps to clarify which parts of the internet eco system are responsible for what. While it may not mitigate some of the requests from 3rd parties to regulate content it can definitely help to educate some of them.
You can download the full report here.
