According to a report by Ars Technica, Verisign submitted a request yesterday asking for the power to scan sites for malware and to shut them down when it sees fit. It would also like the ability to shut down a domain name at the request of law enforcement.

Verisign of course operates a huge part of the internet networking infrastructure including top-level domain names like: .com, .net, and .name.

Verisign says:

All parts of the internet community are feeling the pressure to be more proactive in dealing with malicious activity

ICANN has recognized this and the new gTLD Applicant Guidebook requires new gTLDs to adopt a clear definition of rapid takedown or suspension systems that will be implemented.

The full request submitted through ICANN’s Registry Services Evaluation Process on October 10th can be viewed below.

It’s not just malware Verisign is worried about. Apparently the company has been piloting a program with cyber security experts to seize domain names that are harboring malicious content or have broken the law in some way. These takedown procedures would include a “protest” capability for those who feel that their domain name was taken in error.

Do you feel like this is a new government way of controlling the internet with Verisign at the lead? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Verisign Com Net Name Request 10oct11 En

The new look, same great taste of the Arabic Top Level Domain (TLD) .emarat or .إمارات will be available to the UAE public by end of 2010. I love saying this: I told you so.

With the first .emarat launched early last week, the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) will officially launch the TLD by the end of this month making it the first Arab country to roll this out. However, the first phase of registration will only include government entities.

The second phase, which will start on September 27, will be dedicated for trademarks only. Not clear on if these trademarks are UAE-specific or not, though.

The third phase will be open for “distinguished names” after November 14. These are probably the rest of the trademarks that are not so influential.

The final phase will be in December and will welcome all other parties.

According to the TRA, using an Arabic domain name will help increase the number of internet users and enhance the Arabic identity of the UAE. If you haven’t heard of the Abu Dhabi 2030 mission (PDF), this is very in-line with the direction that the Emirate and country is taking to promote and enhance the Arabic culture via new media and technological advancements.

Shortly after Egypt launched the first Arabic Top Level Domain (TLD), the United Arab Emirates launches the first .emarat (.امارات) TLD.

Head out to http://خليفة.امارات (khalifa.emarat), the official website of the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and check it out. Typing this is going to feel weird for a while!

The UAE has become one of the four countries so far, allowed by the Internet Corporation Assigned for Names and Numbers (ICCAN), to use the internet domain in its mother tongue.

Although the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s plan is to “encourage all companies and entities in the UAE to register for .ae and .emarat as it represents their local business identity and brings their country pride,” no information about how or when registration can take place has been announced yet.

Here at TNW Middle East, we’ve received emails by the dozen with questions related to where and how domain names with Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) can be registered. The answer is, you can’t. Not just yet.

While the first DNS record for an Arabic TLD was inserted by iCANN as a proof of concept, it was also to probably resuscitate the hype and buy time till registrars are capable of accepting applications.

If the process of registering these IDNs is going to bear any similarity to how complex it is to register local addresses (let’s just say that my personal experiences with .ae registrations have not been positive) then it would probably not be available through the networksolutions of the world.

We’ve gotten in touch with UAE NIC, the official domain name registrar in the United Arab Emirates, and have not received an answer yet, but we’ll certainly let you know if we do.

I still stick to my prediction – and for once pray that I’m wrong – that this will not be available till the fourth quarter of 2010.

Until then, hold your horses, and watch this tacky video that ICANN was so nice to put together.