The dot.ma extension locked | L’Economiste

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) has announced a new decision concerning the administrative, technical, and commercial management of Internet domain names. The decision will soon be published in the Official Gazette. «The aim is to respond to changes in the domain name management ecosystem, both nationally and internationally. The text makes improvements to certain processes for managing domain names (NDD) under «.ma», drawing inspiration in particular from global best practices in this field», explains the ANRT. According to Khalid Ziani, telecoms & IT expert, «this decision clarifies the conditions for declaring «-ma» domain names, which are the responsibility of the ANRT, and thus enshrines Moroccan sovereignty». 
Furthermore, said the expert, « the other provisions make it possible to guarantee compliance with Moroccan sovereignty for the creation of these domain names (location of the service provider or administrator, DNS servers in Morocco), which was not the case previously «. This decision also confers «an arbitration role on the ANRT without any possibility of challenge». 
The ANRT has not described any appeal or challenge procedure. Concerning this precise point, the expert points out, there could be legal problems and unnecessary recourse to the courts. It should be noted that the ANRT’s decision is explained by its status as administrator of the domains which are the subject of this decision with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). 
This American private-sector organization is responsible for coordinating and managing the allocation of domain names at international level. In Morocco, ANRT is responsible for representing Internet address holders before international governmental and non-governmental bodies in charge of the international management of Internet domain names. According to the telecommunications regulatory agency, the purpose of this decision is to set out the administrative, technical, and commercial management procedures for Internet domain names, which are the responsibility of the ANRT. 
The domain names covered by this decision concern the following extensions and/or zones: «.ma». A domain name extension, also known as a « top-level domain « ( or «TLD»), refers to the last part of the Internet address of a website. For example, «.ma». The domain name extension also plays a crucial role in the structure of internal addresses. It is also essential for the proper functioning of the DNS (Domain Name System). The Domain Name System is an organized, hierarchical database that maps domain names to IP addresses..

Amin RBOUB