Following the recent publishing of the .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) draft .za registry and registrar licensing regulations, the authority assures South Africans that the regulations will benefit everyone, and provide a stable and secure environment for both registries and registrars.

According to Molehe Wesi, CEO of ZADNA, the draft regulations provide details on the requirements to be met by registries and registrars to be licensed by the authority, the steps to be taken when applying for the renewal of the licence, and how to address any contraventions of the licence conditions.

“As a regulator, we didn’t have regulations and procedures in place for licensing, and accrediting the registrars and registries, which we are expected to do from a legislative point of view,” he explains. “The new regulations promise to provide this particular service to both these stakeholders, to enable us to license the registries and the registrars taking into account that there are two types of registries, namely commercial and non-commercial, both of which will be covered by the proposed regulations.”

Ultimately, Wesi says the regulations will give ZADNA the ability to monitor, investigate where needed, and address complaints as and when they arise.

The other element, he adds, is that the new draft regulations will deal with the extra requirements over and above what is being currently done by the respective parties, to clarify what they need to provide ZADNA with as a regulator, and what they have done to ensure they have controls in place as a compliance measure.

A conduit for all parties

Speaking about how the new regulations will benefit South Africa, he says they will enable ZADNA as a regulator to adequately deal with queries relating to DNS abuse. “The regulations provide us and them a conduit to receive and address these, and other complaints.”

Furthermore, he says the regulations will put ZADNA in a position where it can deal effectively with any industry issues. “It doesn’t matter which stakeholder the complaint originates from, be it a registry or registrar, we will be able to investigate and address any issues that arise from that complaint in a fair and equitable manner.

“Most importantly, they will also ensure that, as mandated by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, we can make sure our space is always aligned to best practice and standards.”

As part of the regulations, Wesi explains that ZADNA will be obligating registries and registrars to make their environments available for monitoring and any compliance checks that are necessary. “They will benefit because we will be able to identify any compliance and procedural issues that exist.”

Closing the gaps

He assures that in no way will this initiative be punitive, but is rather designed to close these gaps. “While the regulations will enable us to revoke any licences, for this to be warranted the infractions would need to be severe and in line with the terms of revocation in the regulations.”

In fact, Wesi assures that the regulations are not one-sided, nor weighted in favour of the authority. “Nothing could be further from the truth. The regulations are here to empower all stakeholders and enable the authority to fulfil its mandate. They will also give a voice to those who don’t currently have one and will protect the vulnerable through the controls that will be put in place.

“One thing I love about South Africa, is that we follow a very democratic process, which is why we have put the regulations out for public participation, through forums where the various stakeholders can give their input should they feel that the proposed regulations will infringe on their constitutional rights in any way.”

He says ZADNA is simply fulfilling what the regulator needs to have in place. “We are obliged to monitor and check compliance against the prescripts of applicable legislation within our sub-sector, but this does not mean that we will abuse anyone else’s constitutional rights. Our mandate is to ensure that those that are coming into the sector are provided with an equitable chance to participate and that those who are already here have their rights protected.”

A consultative process

He says ZADNA will take all feedback into account to ensure that the regulations are as balanced as possible. “In addition, the regulations will be subject to a further stage, whereby we engage those that review all constitutional issues and legislation, to ensure everything is done by the book.”

He says once the deadline for feedback on 6 June has passed, ZADNA will review and consider all the commentaries and written submissions, as well as all the input received from the various engagements the authority has been involved with in the past three weeks.

“We will then effect any necessary changes that are applicable, and the regulations will be reviewed to ensure they are constitutionally compliant. The information will then be shared with the stakeholders and hopefully allow the process of promulgation to take place. It has been a consultative process, and one that promises to be a great benefit to all South Africans,” Wesi says.

About ZADNA
ZADNA is a not-for-profit company established in terms of section 59 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002. Its mandate is to regulate the .za namespace and ensure its efficient use, management and administration.  ZADNA is accountable to its members and the department of communications & digital technologies.

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