Re: BIOT 1997 ICB (Internet Computer Bureau) Agreement

The request was refused by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Dr. Jonathan Levy

Dear Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,

This request is for a specific document referenced but not provided in a previous request - REF: 1206-17
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/4...

Please provide a copy of the “1997 ICB (Internet Computer Bureau) Agreement” referenced in this redacted email infra provided in response to request: 1206-17.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/4...

From: Sure
Sent: 15 May 2017 14:17
To: FCO
Subject: ICB Agreement

[Redacted],

Just to confirm, I have checked and the only agreement as I advised at the meeting is the 1997 agreement.

Best Regards,

[Redacted]

Chief Executive Diego Garcia and CTO S&D

For purposes of clarification, the 1997 ICB Agreement, deals with ccTLD .IO and Internet Computer Bureau Ltd (ICB). “Sure” refers to Sure “Diego Garcia” Ltd., the telecommunications provider for British Indian Ocean Territory. I am requesting a copy of this Agreement in its entirety including any updates or amendments.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Jonathan Levy

Information Rights (Sensitive), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

“If you are making a request under the Freedom of Information Act,
Environmental Information Regulations or Data Protection Act, please note
that, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be delays in our
ability to respond to your email. We thank you for your patience at this
difficult time”

Follow us online: [1]www.gov.uk/fcdo

This email is intended for the addressee(s) only.  All messages sent and
received by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be
monitored in line with relevant [2]UK legislation 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/fcdo
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Historical Information Rights,

Dear Dr Levy

Thank you for your FOI request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We received your request on 4th January. It has been assigned a unique
reference number (above). We aim to respond by Monday, 1st February.

Please note, however, that reprioritisation of resources due to the
COVID-19 crisis, and measures we are required to take to prevent the
spread of the virus, continue to have an impact on our ability to respond
to all requests within the statutory deadline.

We have significantly reduced on-site working which will mean delays to
responses which require access to paper records.

We are endeavouring to process requests as quickly as possible, and
appreciate your patience at this time.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Unit

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Historical Information Rights,

1 Attachment

Dear Dr Levy,

We are writing in response to your Freedom of Information request
FOI2021/00635, received 4th January. Please find our response attached.

Yours sincerely,

Historical Information Rights Team

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Dear Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's handling of my FOI request 'Re: BIOT 1997 ICB (Internet Computer Bureau) Agreement'.

The document witheld deals with the creation of CCTLD .IO in 1997. CCTLD .IO is a Generic Country Code Top-Level Domain or gccTLD and refers to those TLDs which are technically "non-restricted ccTLDs" but used like traditional generic TLDs (gTLDs) rather than "country" targeted ones.

Use of CCTLD .IO is not restricted to BIOT but has been used commercially internationally by tens of thousands of companies. The current owner is Donuts Inc. which is the parent company of Internet Computer Bureau Ltd (ICB) which it acquired through the purchase of Afilias Inc. in December 2020. Afilias Inc. acquired Internet Computer Bureau Ltd. in 2017.

It is therefore doubtful that release of a 1997 document would harm Donuts Inc. Release is in the public interest as the ownership of CCTLD .IO is under dispute by the Chagossian people. Further the derecognition of the BIOT entity by the United Nations has placed in question the substantial investments that thousands of Internet based companies have made in ccTLD .IO. The value of the domain and websites easily reaches into the tens of millions of pounds if not many times that.

The FCDO has previously claimed it has no direct interest in CCTLD .IO

"There is no agreement between the UK Government and ICB regarding the administration of
the .io domain. ICB independently registered the .io domain through the internet governing
process – the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) – in the late 1990s. This process
is a functional responsibility of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN). The BIOT Administration tasks its telecoms provider to ensure a reliable and
secure service. The telecoms provider has in turn asked ICB to ensure that rules are in place
to ensure security and good governance of the domain. "

"Neither the UK Government nor the BIOT Administration receives revenue from the sale of
.io domains, which are administered independently by ICB."

See: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/2...

Therefore the public including tens of thousands of companies worldwide have an interest in the document requested. The FCDO and BIOTA have little or no interest as they disclaim a financial and administrative connection to CCTLD .IO.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Jonathan Levy

Historical Information Rights,

Dear Dr Levy,

Internal Review for FOI2021/00635

Thank you for your request for an internal review of our response to your
FOI Request Ref FOI2021/00635

We received your request on 10th February and it has been assigned a
unique reference number above. We will aim to respond by Wednesday, 10th
March.

Please note, however, that reprioritisation of resources due to the
COVID-19 crisis, and measures we are required to take to prevent the
spread of the virus, continue to have an impact on our ability to respond
to all requests within the statutory deadline.

We have significantly reduced on-site working which will mean delays to
responses which require access to paper records.

We are endeavouring to process requests as quickly as possible, and
appreciate your patience at this time.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Unit

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Information Rights Unit,

Dear Dr Levy

We apologise for delay in sending our reply, we are working as quickly as
possible to conclude your request and expect to be able to send you our
reply by 9th April, sooner if possible.

Kind Regards

Historical Information Rights Team

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Information Rights Unit,

Dear Dr Levy

We apologise for the continued delay in sending our reply, please be
assured that we are continuing to progress your request. The date that the
response is due for your internal review request, IR2021/03127, has been
changed to 10th May sooner if possible.

Kind Regards

Information Rights Unit

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Information Rights Unit,

Dear Dr Levy

We apologise for the continued delay in sending our reply, please be
assured that we are continuing to progress your request. We aim to respond
to your internal review request IR2021/03127 by 8th June.

Kind Regards

Information Rights Unit

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Information Rights Unit,

1 Attachment

Dear Dr Levy,

I am writing in response to your internal review request IR2021/03127,
received 10th February. Please find attached our response.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Unit

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office