Showing posts with label ICANN55. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICANN55. Show all posts

2016-04-20

ICANN and the Global Public Interest, A Contradiction in Terms

ICANN--the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers--and the Global Public Interest, a Contradiction in Terms?

Efforts by some within ICANN to "define" (and thereby "restrict") the term "public interest" is a misguided, ill-advised, attempt to supplant the proper role of governments, and will most likely result in a definition favorable to the clients and employers of the lawyers-lobbyists-stakeholders who infest, and have largely captured, ICANN structures and processes, principally representing domain name industry and other special interests, all to the actual detriment of the global internet community and the global public interest.

Multistakeholderism, insofar as it applies to ICANN, is just another term for regulatory capture (Wikipedia):
"Regulatory capture is a form of political corruption that occurs when a regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating." (emphasis added)
A prime example of ICANN regulatory capture is ICANN's new gTLDs program, which was designed and implemented primarily for purposes of making money for ICANN (for exorbitant salaries, exploding budget, staff levels, etc.), and the domain name industry, principally, new gTLD registry operators, registry service providers, and registrars. The dramatic increase in costs to members of the global internet community to defend against what ICANN enabled by adding over a 1000 new gTLDs to the global DNS, from cybercrimes to trademark infringement a/k/a cybersquatting, matters little to ICANN. By the time legal processes have caught up with the offenders, ICANN, together with the registry operators and registrars, have all collected their respective fees from the abusive domain name registrations and do not have to pay one cent to the victims in the global internet community. ICANN and the new gTLD domain name industry, in effect, constitute a public nuisance, making money by enabling and providing the platforms by which global bad actors, from terrorists to cybercriminals to cybersquatters, profit by exploiting the global economy and the global internet community. It's all win-win, wink-wink, for ICANN and ICANN's partners (@5:35 and 33:06) a/k/a ICANN's customers, or at least, was supposed to be. Read more at ICANN's Boondoggle | MIT Technology Review, August 21, 2012 and ICANN Damaged a Competitive Domain Name Market With Its New gTLDs | DomainMondo.com. ICANN and its domain name industry 'partners' are engaging in rentier capitalism at its worst--"as the economy becomes more and more about information, the crucial ends of capital holders is to take things that could [and should] belong to the commons and instead appropriate them as property rights and sell them off..." 
"ICANN is an organization rooted in the private sector (including civil society) with governments in an advisory capacity. In the Affirmation of Commitments of 2009, ICANN committed itself to act in the global public interest. ICANN is a bottom-up organisation which has its origins in one country and is driven by a community that is dominated by the domain industry and other special interests ... a discussion has started in ICANN about how to better understand the notion of global public interest and how to improve its accountability mechanisms so that the global public interest is better reflected in its decisions ..."  -- Thomas Schneider, Swiss cyber-diplomat and the Chairman of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC); Geneva Digital Watch: Issue 5, November 2015 (pdf),(links and emphasis added).
Contrast ICANN Board Chairman Steve Crocker's letter below with ICANN's current denial in a U.S. District Court of any public interest in new gTLD applications and processes, i.e., the new gTLD guidebook, which resulted from ICANN policy-making! See News Review: dotAFRICA, Public Interest, Judge Holds ICANN Accountable | DomainMondo.com.

ICANN Board Chairman Steve Crocker's letter to GNSO Council Chair James Bladel, 12 April 2016 (emphasis added):

"... historically at ICANN, there has been no explicit definition of the term “global public interest,” the Board has understood the term within the context of Paragraph 3 of the [ICANN] Articles of Incorporation:
“In furtherance of the foregoing purposes, and in recognition of the fact that the Internet is an international network of networks, owned by no single nation, individual or organization, the Corporation [ICANN] shall, except as limited by Article 5 hereof, pursue the charitable and public purposes of lessening the burdens of government and promoting the global public interest in the operational stability of the Internet by (i) coordinating the assignment of Internet technical parameters as needed to maintain universal connectivity on the Internet; (ii) performing and overseeing functions related to the coordination of the Internet Protocol("IP") address space; (iii) performing and overseeing functions related to the coordination of the Internet domain name system ("DNS"), including the development of policies for determining the circumstances under which new top-level domains are added to the DNS root system; (iv) overseeing operation of the authoritative Internet DNS root server system; and (v) engaging in any other related lawful activity in furtherance of items (i) through (iv).” (emphasis added)
"... Future conversation and work on exploring the public interest within ICANN’s remit will require
global, multistakeholder, bottom-up discussion and I am glad to see the GNSO Council, along with other groups, is already taking a keen interest in these next steps."--Letter embedded below (yellow highlighting added):

Resources:
See also on Domain Mondo:

Below is the slide Presentation from ICANN 55, Marrakech, March 7, 2016, Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit:



Session Overview: Discussions on the topic of the "public interest within ICANN's remit" and potential definitions of this term have been ongoing for years. In 2013-2014, the Strategy Panel on Public Responsibility Framework, led by Nii Quaynor, explored this topic. Based on community input at sessions and webinars, the Panel defined the global public interest in relation to the Internet as: "ensuring that the Internet becomes, and continues to be, stable, inclusive, and accessible across the globe so that all may enjoy the benefits of a single and open Internet. In addressing its public responsibility, ICANN must build trust in the Internet and its governance ecosystem." While some recommended the report, at individual and ICANN meetings, and at ICANN 52 in particular, it is evident there is a need and a desire to revisit this topic. Given limits on bandwidth for additional projects, and given the intense focus on other ongoing dialogues, a wikispace was established as a resource space for all to populate with background documents that will be useful in guiding this conversation forward. As set out in the ICANN Operating and Strategic Plans, ICANN will be facilitating a conversation in Financial Year 16 to explore the "public interest" within ICANN's mission and mandate, and this High Interest Session will form an important part of this work.

Archival Media of March 7, 2016, ICANN55 "Public Interest" Session: 
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Adobe Connect: Full [EN] Virtual Meeting Room Stream Archive English
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Livestream: Full [EN] Virtual Meeting Room Stream Archive English
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [AR] Audio Stream Archive العربية
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [EN] Audio Stream Archive English
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [ES] Audio Stream Archive Español
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [FR] Audio Stream Archive Français
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [PT] Audio Stream Archive Português
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [RU] Audio Stream Archive Русский
Exploring the "Public Interest" Within ICANN's Remit | Audio: Full [ZH] Audio Stream Archive 简体中文




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2016-03-23

ICANN, IANA, CCWG-Accountability Update post-Marrakech ICANN55

[CCWG-ACCT] CCWG Update post-Marrakech (source: CCWG-Accountability public mail list) (emphasis and some links added):

 "To: Accountability Cross Community - Going Forward
Although the CCWG has completed an important part of our work, we are far from done, and there are a number of projects we must still complete. These projects include:
  • Drafting of Bylaws to implement our Work Stream 1 (WS1) recommendations
  • Completing the work on IRP that goes beyond the Bylaws
  • Finalizing the budget process in coordination with the CWG-Stewardship
  • Undertaking Work Stream 2 (WS2)

 "Later this week, the co-Chairs will be sending a note to the Chartering Organizations (COs) to explain our plan for completing the CCWG’s remaining WS1 projects and that we assume that CO members will remain in place unless we are advised otherwise. This will be a follow-up to the communication sent on 6 March 2016.

 "You will also see a call for WS2 volunteers on the ICANN website in the next few days. In accordance with ICANN’s general outreach practices, the announcement will go out to all users subscribed to ICANN news alerts, and shared amongst their regional stakeholder engagement teams, mailing lists and social media platforms.

 "We ask that you also share this call for volunteers widely to ensure that all interested parties, including those outside of the ICANN ecosystem, are aware that they are welcome to participate in projects of WS2. It is important for our group to continue to strive for maximized diversity of our participants going forward.

 "Bylaws Drafting
The immediate focus of our efforts is drafting the necessary Bylaws based on our WS1 recommendations. As discussed during our meeting on 10 March at ICANN55 in Marrakech, there is a critical path for the Bylaws drafting. Along with the CWG-Stewardship co-Chairs, we have instructed our legal teams to work with ICANN to draft the Bylaws. The legal teams will meet in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week to work through and refine language for the draft Bylaws. Our CCWG Rapporteur, Becky Burr, will attend the meeting as an observer and will send through written updates to the CCWG mailing list. Chris Disspain will also attend as an observer from the ICANN Board, and Bernard Turcotte will observe in his support role to the CCWG-Accountability.

 "It is expected that the lawyers will come to an agreement by the end of this meeting and that a final draft of the proposed revisions to the Bylaws would be available for CCWG review by Friday 2 April 2016 at the latest.

 "It is important to remember that the overall transition schedule depends on completing this work. In order for the transition to take place by the end of the current contract between NTIA and ICANN on 30 September 2016:

  • ICANN must publish the Bylaws for a 30-day public comment period beginning on 20 April.
  • This timeline would allow the Board to approve the changes to the Bylaws on 27 May.
  • This means that the CCWG will be required to complete its review of the draft Bylaws by Wednesday, 13 April.

"As agreed upon in Marrakech, our objective is to provide the CCWG with as much time as possible to review these draft Bylaws to confirm that the proposals are adequately reflected, with the minimum time being 7 full calendar days.

 "To facilitate the CCWG’s review, we will be organizing two meetings on: 5 April from 19:00-21:00 UTC, and 7 April from 12:00-14:00 UTC, where the legal teams can answer any questions we have with respect to the draft Bylaws. Prior to submission to the CCWG, the external counsel to the CCWG will be asked to confirm that the Bylaws are an appropriate reflection of the CCWG’s proposal.

"We do not anticipate any plenary CCWG calls before the Bylaw review calls on 5 and 7 April. The IRP subgroup may have a meeting next week to discuss the IRP section of the Bylaws, but we leave this decision to Becky who is leading the effort on developing further IRP implementation guidance.

"Implementation and WS2
Once the Bylaws work is complete, we will turn our focus to our inventory of WS2 items. However, this does not prevent anyone in the group from launching into discussions on the mailing list and self-organizing around the topics.

 "Regarding mailing lists, we have decided to keep the conversation on the main CCWG list until there is enough interest and discussion to launch a separate sub-group list. This way, we can manage the prioritization and sequencing of our work based on the group’s interest. To help us make a determination on when to launch a separate mailing list, it would be useful for the discussion on the main CCWG mailing list to be around scope, initial research, work plan, etc. It should be noted that the Human Rights effort already has a mailing list (former “WP4” group), and anyone interested in joining that mailing list may contact acct-staff.
Thank you,
Mathieu, Leon, Thomas,
Co-Chairs, CCWG-Accountability"

See also: News Review (March 20): ICANN, IANA, NTIA, Congress, the American People | DomainMondo.com

 Note: CCWG-Accountability meetings schedule here which are online via Adobe Connect (open to silent "observers") icann.adobeconnect.com/accountability/.




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2016-03-10

ICANN55: IANA Transition Plan, Sexual Harrassment, ICANN New gTLDs

ICANN55 wrapped up today in Marrakech, Morocco, with the final day's Public Forum and ICANN Board of Directors Meeting. As expected, the ICANN Board approved the transmittal of the IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal to NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce, in Washington, D.C., in response to NTIA's 14 March 2014 announcement. A tired and self-congratulatory mood permeated the last day of ICANN55.

Topics of interest raised at the Public Forum:
• Sexual harassment issues were raised starting with a speaker who said she had been to only two ICANN meetings, and both times had been sexually harassed.
• The new gTLDs lobbyists tried again (unsuccessfully) to get a commitment from the ICANN Board that would allow them to hijack the ICANN auction proceeds for new gTLDs' marketing purposes. (The issue of use of auction proceeds will be the subject of a lengthy process--an upcoming post on Domain Mondo will have more details.)
• A domain name registrant pressed the ICANN Board about its past decisions and statements--e.g., "adding a 1000 new gTLDs per year for a 1000 years to the internet root"--and ICANN Board members replied, somewhat sheepishly, that the entire new gTLDs program is under scrutiny and review based upon experience with the first round.

The next meeting of ICANN, ICANN56, will be in Helsinki, Finland, 27-30 June--it will be a "working meeting"--no public forum, no welcome session.

ICANN Global Domains Division President Akram Atallah enjoying Wednesday night's Gala:

For a complete review of ICANN55, Domain Mondo recommends reading the Centr Report, which covers the ccNSO, GNSO and GAC sessions by topic and theme, with a special focus on the CCWG-Accountability:



See also on Domain Mondo:  ICANN Board Transmits IANA Transition Plan, What Happens Next?




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ICANN55, Marrakech, GAC Communique

The ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has issued its ICANN55 Communique, embedded below. The GAC also welcomed Burundi, Cambodia, Haiti, Republic of Palau and Chad as new Members, and the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) as a new Observer. This brings the number of GAC Members to 162, and the number of observers to 35.

The GAC will next meet during the 56th ICANN meeting, scheduled for the 27th to 30th of June 2016.



 See also on Domain Mondo: ICANN55: GAC Letter on ICANN Accountability Final Proposal







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2016-03-09

ICANN55 Wednesday Recap, GNSO & ccNSO Approve CCWG WS1 Report

A recap of Wednesday at ICANN55 in Marrakech, Morocco, via the twittersphere of the talented and observant tweeter @sgdickinson:

Tomorrow is the final day of ICANN55 meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. Links to the public forum and public ICANN Board of Directors meeting scheduled for the last day can be found at: ICANN 55, Marrakech, Morocco, March 5-10, Info, Links, Twitter Feeds. Livestream videos (Live and Replay Archive) can be found here.




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ICANN55: GAC Letter on ICANN Accountability Final Proposal

The ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has responded to the CCWG's Supplemental Final Proposal (part of the IANA stewardship transition plan) which is scheduled to be approved and transmitted by the ICANN Board of Directors on Thursday, March 10, 2016, to NTIA: 

"... The GAC has considered the CCWG's proposal and supports Recommendations 1 to 10 and 12. However, there is no consensus on Recommendation 11 and the “carve-out” provision contained in Recommendations 1 and 2. As regards Recommendations 1 and 2, the GAC expresses its willingness to take part in the envisioned empowered community mechanism as a decisional participant, under conditions to be determined internally ... the GAC has no objection to the transmission of the proposal to the ICANN Board."  

Complete GAC letter embedded below:

See also on Domain Mondo:




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ICANN55 Break: El Badi Palace, Marrakech; Morocco in U.S. History

A break from ICANN55--2 days to go--time for a little sightseeing and history--
El Badi Palace - Bjørn Christian Tørrissen CC BY-SA 3.0  Wikimedia Commons
Google Earth map link showing location of El Badi Palace, above (Arabic: قصر البديع‎ - meaning The incomparable palace), a ruined palace located in Marrakesh, Morocco. Commissioned by the Arab Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, sometime shortly after his accession in 1578, its construction was funded by a substantial ransom paid by the Portuguese after the Battle of the Three Kings. The palace is today a well known tourist attraction. See also Google 360 photo.

Morocco in U.S. History:
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the United States of America as an independent nation in 1777. In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attack by the Barbary pirates. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship, signed in 1786, stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty. In 1943, the Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) was founded to press for independence, and had discreet U.S. support. That party subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement ... in March 1956 the French protectorate was ended and Morocco regained its independence from France as the "Kingdom of Morocco". [source: Wikipedia]

 Morocco in World War II:
Above: "Operation Torch - message from the President of United States to the citizens of Casablanca"
(pamplet dropped in Casablanca in 1942) (Public Domain via Commons.)
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942. The Soviet Union had pressed the United States and United Kingdom to open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Red Army. The American Western Task Force landed before daybreak on 8 November 1942, at three points in Morocco: Safi (Operation Blackstone), Fedala (Operation Brushwood, the largest landing with 19,000 men), and Mehdiya-Port Lyautey (Operation Goalpost). Because it was hoped that the French would not resist, there were no preliminary bombardments. This proved to be a costly error as French defenses took a toll of American landing forces. U.S. Army Major General George S. Patton landed at 08:00, and the beachheads were secured later in the day. The Americans surrounded the port of Casablanca by 10 November, and the city surrendered an hour before the final assault was due to take place. Casablanca was the principal French Atlantic naval base after German occupation of the European coast.

Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat operated by Pan American
Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat operated by Pan American (1939-1950) (Library of Congress, public domain)
Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US President to fly while in office when he secretly departed from Miami on a Pan Am Boeing 314 Clipper, the Dixie (see photo above), arriving in Morocco, on January 14, 1943, for a high-level meeting in Casablanca with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at which they planned World War II strategy, and agreed upon the demand for "unconditional surrender" of the Axis powers. Josef Stalin was also invited to the Casablanca Conference but could not attend due to a major Red Army offensive then underway. After the meeting, FDR visited with U.S. troops and did some sightseeing before retracing his same route back to the United States. He celebrated his 61st birthday while flying over Haiti. (Politico).



Above: Casablanca (1942) final scene - Casablanca (film): Although an initial release date was anticipated for spring 1943, the movie Casablanca was rushed into release to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks earlier and premiered at the Hollywood Theater in New York City on November 26, 1942, to coincide with the Allied invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca. It went into general release on January 23, 1943, to take advantage of the Casablanca Conference, between Churchill and Roosevelt. Casablanca won three Academy Awards - Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay - and gradually its reputation grew. Its lead characters, memorable lines, and pervasive theme song have all become iconic and the film consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films in history (source: Wikipedia).

Morocco
  • Country in Africa
  • Morocco, a North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, is distinguished by its Berber, Arabian and European cultural influences. Marrakesh’s walled medina, a mazelike medieval quarter, offers entertainment in its Djemaa el-Fna square and souks (marketplaces) selling traditional ceramics, jewelry and metal lanterns. The capital Rabat’s Kasbah of the Udayas is a 12th-century royal fort overlooking the water.
  • Capital: Rabat
  • Currency: Moroccan dirham
  • Continent: Africa
  • Population: 33.01 million (2013) World Bank
  • Official language: Arabic



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2016-03-08

ICANN55, Marrakech, Tuesday Recap via Twittersphere

ICANN55, Marrakech, Tuesday Recap via Twittersphere:
See on DomainMondo.com: 
Also see: Livestream ICANN55 videos (upcoming & replay/archive)




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ICANN a Steward? LOL! This Is How ICANN Wastes Registrants' Money

UPDATE (emphasis added) [CCWG-ACCT] See Photos from Last Night's AFRALO Showcase/Fadi Tribute in #ICANN55:

Dear Eberhard,
Thank you for your question. The Afralo showcase and tribute to Fadi was held on Monday night. The 2 purposes were combined so that they don’t conflict on the schedule and to save logistics and costs. The entire event cost approximately $106,000 to ICANN which was planned for 1200 people. The Afralo showcase (musicians, dancers,…) was paid for by Afralo. In case of interest, ICANN has previously held a community farewell cocktail for exiting CEOs at their last meeting. The cost of this is typically between $50,000 and $60,000. The additional $40,000 we had to pay this time was for the fitted out marquee including AV. This was required on this particular occasion as no other room large enough to accommodate the entire community was available. I hope this is helpful and addresses your question.
Best,
Xavier Calvez
CFO, ICANN

"Thank you very much.
I am shocked at the amount of money ICANN has to waste.
That does put the pressure being applied with regards to funding of WS2
into perspective.
greetings, el"  [Dr Eberhard W Lisse]

[--end of UPDATE--]

From the CCWG-Accountability public email list: [CCWG-ACCT] See Photos from Last Night's AFRALO Showcase/Fadi Tribute in #ICANN55:

"Xavier [Xavier Calvez, ICANN CFO],
I have received the below.
How much did this extravaganza cost ICANN?
greetings, el"
[Dr Eberhard W Lisse - CCWG-Accountability member, representing ccNSO, from the African Region]

"Camels, Drummers And Hundreds of ICANNers: Last Night's AFRALO Showcase And Fadi Tribute Was A Hit!
"Monday's night Tribute to Fadi was a lively affair. Hundreds of ICANN55 participants filled the Orion Tent at the Palmeraie Golf Palace and Resort to enjoy the food, hear traditional Moroccan music and honor Fadi Chehadé's legacy.  Many took to the stage during the evening's festivities including: El Mountassir Billah Azdine, Director General of the National Agency for Regulation of Telecommunications; Xiaodong Lee, CEO & CTO, China Internet Network Information Center; Demi Getschko, Member of the Board, Brazilian Internet Steering Committee; Rinalia Abdul Rahim, ICANN Board Member  and Board Chair Steve Crocker. If you didn't get a chance to take your own camel selfie, you can download last night's photos from ICANN's Flickr account here."--source: ICANN55 newsletter (links added)

The "Fadi" referred to is Fadi Chehade, ICANN's outgoing President & CEO, who gave notice last year that he was quitting ICANN with 2 years left on his contract, and after having served only 2 1/2 years (with a salary+benefits package in the range of $1,000,000+ annually).

Domain Mondo is sure that all domain name registrants worldwide (who fund the bulk of ICANN's wasteful spending), and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz et al, will all be interested to see how ICANN is such a "good steward" of money. Wait until ICANN is no longer subject to U.S. government oversight when the IANA stewardship transition is finished!

Here is an ICANN tweet from last night's "Tribute to Fadi"--
Does anyone wonder what would happen if a government official in the U.S. spent taxpayer funds like ICANN officers and directors spend registrants' taxes fees? How about officers and directors of a publicly listed Fortune 500 corporation who engaged in this kind of corporate waste?
See also on Domain Mondo:





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2016-03-07

ICANN55 Marrakech, Monday Recap via Twittersphere, Video Links

See also on Domain Mondo:

ICANN55 Monday Videos on Livestream:

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2016-03-06

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

DomainMondoShiningLight ©2013domainmondo.com All Rights Reserved
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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