IANA Transition Hearing: Implications of Ending US Oversight of the Internet

L to R: Senator Ted Cruz; ICANN CEO Göran Marby

"... a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, chaired by Senator Cruz (a skeptic of the transition), will have a hearing on Wednesday at which both the [Obama] Administration and the new CEO of ICANN will appear. (I will be testifying as well, but on the second panel—the fireworks will be on the first panel, I'm sure.) What will come of this?  Only time will tell."--Paul Rosenzweig, The ICANN and IANA Transition End Game | LawfareBlog.com (emphasis added)

The IANA Stewardship Transition will be complete on October 1, 2016, unless House and Senate Republicans are successful in their effort to delay the transition and extend the IANA functions contract which will otherwise expire September 30, 2016. The Wednesday hearing was called by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the Subcommittee Chair, who opposes the IANA Stewardship Transition.

Hearing | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts: Protecting Internet Freedom: Implications of Ending U.S. Oversight of the Internet 

Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Time: 10:00 AM EDT | LIVE video replay
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building 226, Washington, D.C.
Presiding: Chairman Cruz

Witnesses:
Panel I
The Honorable Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary For Communications And Information And Administrator
National Telecommunications And Information Administration (NTIA)
United States Department Of Commerce
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Mr. Göran Marby
CEO And President
Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers (ICANN)
Los Angeles, CA
Download Testimony (pdf)

Panel II
Mr. Berin Szoka
President
TechFreedom
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Mr. Jonathan Zuck
President
ACT The App Association
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Ms. Dawn GroveCorporate Counsel
Karsten Manufacturing
Phoenix, AZ
Download Testimony (pdf)

Ms. J. Beckwith ("Becky") Burr
Deputy General Counsel And Chief Privacy Officer
Neustar
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Mr. John Horton
President And CEO
LegitScript
Portland, Oregon
Download Testimony (pdf)

Mr. Steve DelBianco
Executive Director
NetChoice
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Mr. Paul Rosenzweig
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary For Policy
U.S. Department Of Homeland Security
Washington, DC
Download Testimony (pdf)

Subcommittee members
Republicans:
Senator Cruz, Chair
Senator Grassley
Senator Hatch
Senator Sessions
Senator Flake
Senator Graham
Senator Lee
Senator Vitter
Democrats:
Senator Coons, Ranking Member
Senator Feinstein
Senator Durbin
Senator Schumer
Senator Whitehouse
Senator Klobuchar
Senator Blumenthal

Member Statements: Senator Chuck Grassley R (IA) Download Statement (pdf)

See on Domain Mondo:

• IANA Transition's Unanswered Questions Require An Extension?
• News Review [11Sep]: IANA Transition Drama in D.C. ... 
• Senate & House Chairmen's Letter to Attorney General & Commerce Sec.
• US Senator Cruz Attacks ICANN, Fadi Chehadé, IANA Transition (video)
• ICANN Answers Questions About The IANA Stewardship Transition

See also:  U.S. GAO - Department of Commerce--Property Implications of Proposed Transition of U.S. Government Oversight of Key Internet Technical Functions | gao.gov Sep 12, 2016: "... we find it is unlikely that either the authoritative root zone file or the Internet domain name system is U.S. Government property under Article IV.  We also find that the possible U.S. property interests that we have identified either would not be disposed of in connection with the proposed transition or would be disposed of in compliance with Article IV."

and U.S. GAO - National Telecommunications and Information Administration--Effect of Section 539 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 on Amounts Appropriated Under a Continuing Resolution | gao.gov Sep 12, 2016: "... Section 539(b) provides that “Notwithstanding any other law, subsection (a) of this section shall not apply in fiscal year 2017.” However, section 539(b) would have no effect on the applicability of the prohibition contained in section 539(a) to funds appropriated by a typical continuing resolution. Therefore, NTIA could not use amounts appropriated under a continuing resolution to relinquish its responsibilities with respect to the Internet domain name system. However, during fiscal year 2017, section 539(b) extinguishes the prohibition of section 539(a) for any balances of the two-year appropriations (for fiscal years 2016 and 2017) enacted under the 2016 Appropriation that remain available for obligation in fiscal year 2017. Thus in fiscal year 2017 [beginning October 1, 2016] NTIA could use unobligated balances appropriated by the 2016 Appropriation to relinquish these responsibilities." (emphasis added)

and Comments on ICANN reform and the Stewardship Transition submitted by Milton Mueller, Internet Governance Project to the Senate Judiciary Committee, subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts, September 14, 2016 (pdf).


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ICANN Quarterly Stakeholder Call, Q4 FY2016, Presentation Slides

ICANN held its FY16 Q4 (ending June 30, 2016), Quarterly Stakeholder Call, on August 18, 2016. There were no surprises in the reports presented, which covered the IANA stewardship transition, global engagement activities, policy updates, and financial reports:

• President & CEO Overview- Göran Marby, President & CEO (10 min)
• Board Update - Steve Crocker, Chair, ICANN Board of Directors (5 min)
• Policy Update - Bart Boswinkel for David Olive, Sr. VP Policy Development Support; Adiel Akplogan, VP Technical Engagement (10 min)
• Management Update - David Conrad, Chief Technology Officer (15 min)
• Financial Update - Xavier Calvez, Chief Financial Officer (10 min)

The recording of the call, the presentation (embed below), and transcripts, are (or will be) posted on the ICANN website.

Highlights from the presentation slides:

ICANN Q4 FY2016 Stakeholder Call Presentation (pdf)(slides), 18 August 2016 (embed below):


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Interview: New ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby (video)

ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby interview:

ICANN's Brad White interviews ICANN's new President and CEO Göran Marby. Published May 15, 2016. You almost have to feel sorry for this guy--he obviously has no idea what he is getting into--and he already has been "fed" a lot of misinformation and false narratives about ICANN.

See also on Domain Mondo:

DomainMondo.com 06Feb2016: New ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby of Sweden, Starts May 2016: "But troubling reports indicate his temperament and leadership style are incompatible with ICANN's collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance ..."

DomainMondo.com: News Review: ICANN, China, IANA: ex-CEO Fadi Chehadé's Sad Legacy: Fadi Chehade: "I’ve learned in these four years that unless he [new ICANN CEO] is listening and deriving his priorities from you, he’s going to have a miserable time. It’s that simple ... See the biggest difficulty for an incoming presidency to ICANN is two parts. The first is his title. The title is a problem because [when] you come in, you think you’re a CEO. You’re not a CEO. This is not a typical CEO job. And so you get into your head all kinds of things about being a CEO that just don’t apply here. And so the title is problematic. And I’ll tell him [new ICANN CEO] this after he signs his offer." (emphasis added)

DomainMondo.com: News Review ... ICANN Chairman's Op-ed Flops: "... [ICANN Chairman Steve] Crocker followed the script he had been given, false narratives and institutional secrets are inculcated in ICANN's sick organizational culture ..."

"The curse was laid upon him in Marrakech" 

Thank you for the journey #ICANN, now passing the baton to Marby. May the force of this community be with you Göran pic.twitter.com/0zLgSXUUpf

— ICANN President (@icann_president) March 10, 2016

Marby is a former technology CEO and start-up founder as well as most recently serving as Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority.

History of ICANN President-CEOs (former positions in parenthesis):

• Göran Marby (Director-General, Swedish Post and Telecom Authority): May 2016- ?
• *Interim: Akram Atallah (ICANN GDD President), March-May, 2016 
• Fadi Chehadé (CEO of Vocado LLC), September 2012-March 2016
• *Interim: Akram Atallah (ICANN COO), July-September, 2012 
• Rod Beckstrom (U.S. Cybersecurity Chief), July 2009-July 2012
• Paul Twomey (Founder, Argo Pacific consulting firm), March 2003-June 2009
• Stuart Lynn (Assoc. V.P., University of California), March 2001-March 2003
• Michael Roberts (V.P. of Educom consortium), October 1998-March 2001

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News Review: ICANN55, IANA Transition, New gTLDs, dot AFRICA

The Domain Mondo news review of the past week--and a look at the week ahead:

ICANN55 started officially on Saturday, March 5th, and runs through Thursday, March 10, 2016. Expect lots of faux applause and cheering when the long-overdue CCWG-Accountability Final Report on WS1 Recommendations is finally approved and the IANA transition plan can finally be sent by the ICANN Board at its Public Meeting on Thursday, to NTIA. Expect an appearance by ICANN's new CEO Göran Marby (though he doesn't start until May, 2016). Also expect a faux farewell to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade. The Economist, which is paid a lot of money by ICANN as a new gTLD evaluator (The Economist Intelligence Unit), ran a soft story about ICANN55 and Fadi which concludes:

"Perhaps Fadi Chehadé, ICANN's president [& CEO] and one of the instigators of NETmundial, will be more successful getting such efforts off the ground in his new job. He will step down after the meeting in Marrakech, to be succeeded by Göran Marby, a Swedish telecoms regulator, and join the World Economic Forum to create all sorts of multi-stakeholder groups. "We need many little ICANNs," he says." --The Economist

The reality of  ICANN, the IANA transition, NETmundial, ICANN's new gTLDs, and Fadi Chehade, is very different from what will be portrayed at ICANN55 in Marrakech. Here's what one leading participant in the IANA transition process (both CWG and CCWG) wrote:

"There are parts of this final Proposal I am not happy with. There are battles that were fought and lost, and consensus-building compromises that make me queasy; I believe other members of my stakeholder structure (IPC) would tend to agree. If I were so inclined (and if I were a Member or my structure had a Member able to speak for my structure alone) I could stand our ground (or lick our wounds) in a Minority Statement." --source: CCWG public mail list (emphasis added)

The only really interesting thing at ICANN55 will be to observe the GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee) deliberations, particularly the sessions concerning the CCWG WS1 recommendations (1,2,11). But, remember, GAC's approval is not needed if a sufficient number of other Chartering Organizations approve, which is likely.

There will be two Public Forums at ICANN55, but Public Forums are just another opportunity for the ICANN Board, officers, and staff to evade accountability, and avoid answering the hard questions that so desperately need to be answered and dealt with. Read more at How ICANN and ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé Evade Accountability.

While ICANN55 attendees are partying and enjoying the luxury resort which is the venue, the reality in Morocco is very different: Morocco’s ANRT Uses Skype, FaceTime in ICANN Conference, Bans Them for Moroccans: "The Moroccan National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) has announced that it will hold a conference [ICANN55] in Marrakech next month will utilize Skype services, despite Skype being banned for the Moroccan public. The move is the latest in a long saga after Moroccan Telecom Companies fully blocked the usage of VoIP services last week..." 

Finally, on Friday, March 11th, U.S. Senators Cruz, Lankford, and Lee, are expecting answers to their questions raised in a letter to Chairman Steve Crocker which follows an earlier letter to Fadi Chehade, who avoided answering all of the Senators' questions.

More information about ICANN55 on Domain Mondo: ICANN 55, Marrakech, Morocco, March 5-10, Info, Links, Twitter Feeds

Most popular posts on DomainMondo.com this past week (highest number of pageviews Sun-Sat):

1. US vs Apple, House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Encryption, Video 
2. News Review: ICANN Accountability, NETmundial Initiative, G20 & China 
3. NETmundial Initiative, WEF and ICANN Withdrawal, Consequences
4. One 'Must Read' For Those Attending ICANN55, Marrakech, March 5-10 
5. US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee's New Letter to ICANN Chairman re: China

Final Note: On Friday, ICANN was enjoined by a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles from delegating new gTLD .AFRICA--read more at: US Federal Court Enjoins ICANN From Delegating New gTLD dot AFRICA.

Have a great week!

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo


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New ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby of Sweden, Starts May 2016

But troubling reports indicate his temperament and leadership style are incompatible with ICANN's collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance--

Göran Marby, new ICANN CEO (ICANN photo)

UPDATE: According to Wikipedia (English translation): Göran Marby - Wikipedia: "In June 2015 representatives of several telecom operators addressed extensive criticism of the way Göran Marby leads PTS, which meant that he drives authority in an unprofessional manner and autocratically. He reportedly has also acted inappropriately and threatening towards both employees and the representatives of the telecommunications industry and journalists." Reference: June 10, 2015: Sharp criticism of the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency's Director General - News (echo) | Sweden's Radio: " The Swedish telecommunications industry expressed a huge dissatisfaction with the Director General of Post and Telecom Agency, Goran Marby. Many believe that he runs authority in an unprofessional manner. The sources also say that Marby even acted menacingly in different situations... One case involves journalist Mats Sjödin , which monitors the telecommunications industry ...  'He came up to me and grabbed my shoulder, and said that "you can not ask me about my staff, because then I can be very aggressive. I can be really aggressive," and so he pushed me on the shoulder.'- I took great offense ... It was a direct threat, and that was additionally physical, says Mats Sjödin. The echo has for several weeks been trying to get an interview with Göran Marby, but he declined to respond to criticism and accusations. Yesterday, outside the Ministry of Industry, we met him briefly. But he answered with silence. After several minutes to respond to questions with silence he disappears behind the guard at the ministry... Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung requires that the PTS Director General resigns and says that he has created a climate in which no one in the industry dares to criticize ..." (English translation)
--end of UPDATE--

ICANN  announced February 8, 2016, its new President and CEO to replace Fadi Chehade: "Göran Marby an experienced business executive and government leader has been named the next President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

""I'm delighted to announce Göran as the new head of ICANN," said Dr. Stephen Crocker, Chair of the ICANN Board of Directors. "His leadership experience as a technology CEO and start up founder as well as his current experience as Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority will be invaluable as ICANN moves towards the next chapter in its history. We conducted an extensive, global search and Göran impressed us all throughout with his shared values, operational experience and understanding of the Internet ecosystem. I'm looking forward to working with him and what I know will be his substantial contribution to ICANN and to helping ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet."

"Marby is a Swedish citizen, currently living in Stockholm. He and his family will be relocating to Los Angeles, California the location of one of ICANN's three global hubs.

""I am very excited to be joining ICANN and joining at the start of a new era for the organization and the community," said Marby. "While I know there is much for me to learn, I am eager to work with ICANN's multistakeholder community to continue all the good work that ICANN has been doing and am very committed to implementing the community's decisions – both with respect to the IANA Stewardship Transition, but also in the myriad important areas of ICANN policy development as it fulfills its mission."

"Marby will succeed current President and CEO Fadi Chehadé whose term finishes on March 15, 2016. Marby will join ICANN in May 2016. During this time, Akram Atallah, President of ICANN's Global Domains Division will serve as acting CEO. "I am very grateful to Akram for agreeing to step into this role and providing the continuity and leadership ICANN needs at such an important time," said Dr Crocker.

"Göran Marby has more than 20 years of experience in the Internet and technology sectors. Prior to joining PTS he co-founded AppGate Network Security AB a security software company where he served as CEO between 2002 and 2009 with a focus on international customers and operations. He has held several other leadership roles in the Internet and technology sectors including as CEO of Cygate a network services company, Country Manager for Cisco in Sweden and as CEO of Unisource Business Networks in Sweden. Marby holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Gothenburg School Economics." source: ICANN press release (emphasis added)

According to his biography posted on ICANN.org:

Göran Marby brings over 20 years experience as a senior executive in the Internet and technology sector, as well as his leadership as Director General at the independent regulatory body Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PST), where he worked closely with international organizations and standards bodies.

Prior to this, he served as CEO and founder of Appgate, a Swedish security software company (now Cryptzone in the U.S), where he grew the organization to a global company with customers in 35 countries and operations in the U.S.

Before his seven years at Appgate, he was CEO for the advanced networks company Cygate Group (now owned by TeliaSonera) where he spearheaded operations in five countries with revenues in the range of 120 million euros. And as Country Manager for Cisco in Sweden, Marby led sales of all products and services.

He currently serves on several Boards including: The Swedish Broadband Forum, The Swedish E-identification Board and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

Marby, age 53, holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Gothenburg, School of Business, Economics and Law, and is married with three kids. He is fluent in English and Swedish and is a Swedish national.


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