On Monday, April 4, 2016, U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah), sent a follow-up letter to Dr. Stephen Crocker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), demanding a response to a series of unanswered questions that remain from previous congressional oversight letters concerning ICANN’s relationship with the Chinese government and the planned transition away from U.S. government oversight of the Internet.
Excerpt from Senators' letter (emphasis added):
“On March 3, 2016, we sent you a letter requesting information to gain a better understanding of the potential implications of ICANN’s relationship with the Chinese government and its impact on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition. Since then, ICANN has submitted to the U.S. government an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal that seeks to end U.S. government oversight of the IANA functions. Given this recent development and congressional concerns over ICANN’s transparency, accountability, and relationship with the Chinese government, it is imperative that we receive a response to our letter.
“After sending our initial request 32 days ago, your staff indicated that you would be unable to respond before March 18. Two weeks has passed since your own self-extended deadline, and ICANN has not only failed to provide a response, but has been unable or unwilling to provide an exact date for when we can expect a complete response to our March 3 letter.
“This series of events comes on the heels of ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s failure to respond to all of the questions in our February 4, 2016 letter addressed to him. We would note that not only did Mr. Chehadé fail to respond to our questions in full, but he disparaged the oversight request during a February 5 question-and-answer session in Los Angeles, California with members of ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization Non-Contracted Party House ...To our dismay, ICANN has failed to respond in full to questions posed in two oversight letters. We are therefore resending our questions and ask that you and Mr. Chehadé provide a response to all unanswered questions (provided below) from our February 4 and March 3 letters as soon as possible, but no later than 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, 2016 ....”
Read the latest letter from U.S. Senators Cruz, Lankford, and Lee, in full, below:
See the previous letters sent by U.S. Senators Cruz, Lankford, and Lee to former ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade and ICANN Chairman Steve Crocker at:
• US Senators Cruz, Lankford & Lee Demand Answers From ICANN CEO | DomainMondo.com
• US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee's New Letter to ICANN Chairman re: China | DomainMondo.com
See also: ICANN Is Stonewalling the U.S. Congress | Ted Cruz | U.S. Senator for Texas.
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
Showing posts with label US Senators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Senators. Show all posts
2016-03-04
US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee's New Letter to ICANN Chairman re: China
Is ICANN complicit in China's censorship regime? Has ICANN's relationship with the Chinese government become a 'systemic problem' within ICANN? Three U.S. Senators want to know--
"U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) today sent a letter to Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Chairman Dr. Stephen Crocker, outlining new concerns that ICANN may have a direct operational relationship with the Chinese government and its potential implications for an Internet transition that ICANN is expected to approve in Morocco next week.
"Today’s letter to Dr. Crocker follows a letter Cruz, Lankford, and Lee sent to ICANN’S CEO Fadi Chehadé last month. The letter to Mr. Chehadé stated serious concerns and requested information regarding his involvement with the World Internet Conference, organized by the Chinese government, a regime notorious for its censorship of the Internet and criminalization of forms of online speech.
"“Last month, we sent you a letter stating our concerns regarding ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s participation in the Chinese-government-sponsored World Internet Conference,” the senators wrote today. “Mr. Chehadé’s participation resulted in an agreement to co-chair a high-level advisory committee for the conference, which could make ICANN complicit in the Chinese censorship regime. Since sending our letter, additional evidence has come to light suggesting that ICANN’s relationship with the Chinese government may be a systemic problem within the organization itself and not limited to a single individual.”"
The letter seeks answers to a series of questions:
Read the latest letter from Senators Cruz, Lankford, and Lee to ICANN Board Chairman Steve Crocker in its entirety here (pdf) and embedded below:
See also on DomainMondo.com:
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
"It is deeply troubling that ICANN would put registry operators in a position of becoming an actor within the Chinese censorship regime. There is concern that this action could be an example of ICANN’s desire to build a close relationship with the Chinese government which could continue to move in a troubling direction once the United States Government ends its oversight. These concerns were recently confirmed by a member of the Non-Connected Party House’s (NCPH) Commercial Stakeholder Group who participated in a meeting with ICANN in February 2016 and stated, “The ICANN board wants to engage more with China and India following the IANA transition, which somewhat explains the board’s decision not to take action against Chehadé.”" --excerpt from US Sens. Cruz, Lankford, Lee letter, infra (emphasis added)"Cruz, Lankford, and Lee Raise New Concerns About ICANN’s Relationship with Authoritarian China" is the headline in the latest (March 3, 2016) press release from the office U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, below (emphasis and links added):
"U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) today sent a letter to Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Chairman Dr. Stephen Crocker, outlining new concerns that ICANN may have a direct operational relationship with the Chinese government and its potential implications for an Internet transition that ICANN is expected to approve in Morocco next week.
"Today’s letter to Dr. Crocker follows a letter Cruz, Lankford, and Lee sent to ICANN’S CEO Fadi Chehadé last month. The letter to Mr. Chehadé stated serious concerns and requested information regarding his involvement with the World Internet Conference, organized by the Chinese government, a regime notorious for its censorship of the Internet and criminalization of forms of online speech.
"“Last month, we sent you a letter stating our concerns regarding ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé’s participation in the Chinese-government-sponsored World Internet Conference,” the senators wrote today. “Mr. Chehadé’s participation resulted in an agreement to co-chair a high-level advisory committee for the conference, which could make ICANN complicit in the Chinese censorship regime. Since sending our letter, additional evidence has come to light suggesting that ICANN’s relationship with the Chinese government may be a systemic problem within the organization itself and not limited to a single individual.”"
The letter seeks answers to a series of questions:
See also on DomainMondo.com:
- US Senators Cruz, Lankford & Lee Demand Answers From ICANN CEO
- After Wuzhen, Should ICANN President & CEO Fadi Chehade Be Fired?
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
2016-02-05
US Senators Cruz, Lankford & Lee Demand Answers From ICANN CEO
UPDATE March 3, 2016: US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee's New Letter to ICANN Chairman re: China
UPDATE: February 23, 2016: The office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R) Texas, has issued the following press release (emphasis added): Sen. Cruz: ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade Is Misleading the United States Senate | Ted Cruz | U.S. Senator for Texas:
"Sen. Cruz: ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade Is Misleading the United States Senate
CHEHADE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF FROM ALL ICANN DECISIONS THAT COULD IMPACT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
"February 23, 2016 | WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement today regarding a letter that Cruz, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) received from Fadi Chehade, CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Friday. Chehade’s letter [see below] was in reply to one that Cruz, Lankford, and Lee sent [see further below] on February 4 raising serious concerns and requesting information regarding Mr. Chehade’s involvement with the World Internet Conference, which is organized by the Chinese government, a regime notorious for its censorship of the Internet and criminalization of online speech.
“Either the World Internet Conference and the People’s Republic of China have misreported the events that took place during their own conference or Fadi Chehade isn’t being completely honest with the United States Senate,” said Sen. Cruz. “While Chehade continues to state that his first meeting won’t take place until later this year, the Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of the People’s Republic of China, reported on December 17, 2015 that, ‘The advisory committee held its first meeting on the sidelines of the second World Internet Conference in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province. Jack Ma, founder of China’s Internet giant Alibaba, and Fadi Chehade, president and CEO of ICANN, act as co-chairman of the advisory committee.’ It should also be noted that Chehade has admitted that he has entered into an arrangement while still serving as the CEO of ICANN and performing under a contract with the United States government, through which his future travel costs to the Chinese government’s state-sponsored World Internet Conference will be compensated. Travel compensation from the Chinese government can be a form of personal conflict of interest, which could impair Chehade’s ability to act impartially and in the best interest of the government when performing under the contract. As such, Chehade should recuse himself from all ICANN decisions that could impact the Chinese government, which include all negotiations and discussions pertaining to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition.” "
[--end of update--]
UPDATE (Feb 19, 2016): By letter (pdf)--embedded below--dated February 19, 2016, ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehade has replied to the letter sent by US Senators Cruz, Lankford & Lee (see further below). Interestingly, the letter sidesteps and does not answer some of the direct questions posed by the US Senators:
US Senator Ted Cruz (who is also currently running for nomination as the Republican candidate for US President), together with US Senators James Lankford and Michael S. Lee, have written to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade demanding answers about ICANN's participation in the World Internet Conference (WIC) and Chehade's serving as co-chair of a high-level advisory committee for the WIC. Specifically the Senators request a response from Chehade no later than 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2016 to the following questions:
(US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee letter embedded below, and available as pdf)
See also on Domain Mondo:
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
UPDATE: February 23, 2016: The office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R) Texas, has issued the following press release (emphasis added): Sen. Cruz: ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade Is Misleading the United States Senate | Ted Cruz | U.S. Senator for Texas:
"Sen. Cruz: ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade Is Misleading the United States Senate
CHEHADE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF FROM ALL ICANN DECISIONS THAT COULD IMPACT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
"February 23, 2016 | WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement today regarding a letter that Cruz, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) received from Fadi Chehade, CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Friday. Chehade’s letter [see below] was in reply to one that Cruz, Lankford, and Lee sent [see further below] on February 4 raising serious concerns and requesting information regarding Mr. Chehade’s involvement with the World Internet Conference, which is organized by the Chinese government, a regime notorious for its censorship of the Internet and criminalization of online speech.
“Either the World Internet Conference and the People’s Republic of China have misreported the events that took place during their own conference or Fadi Chehade isn’t being completely honest with the United States Senate,” said Sen. Cruz. “While Chehade continues to state that his first meeting won’t take place until later this year, the Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of the People’s Republic of China, reported on December 17, 2015 that, ‘The advisory committee held its first meeting on the sidelines of the second World Internet Conference in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province. Jack Ma, founder of China’s Internet giant Alibaba, and Fadi Chehade, president and CEO of ICANN, act as co-chairman of the advisory committee.’ It should also be noted that Chehade has admitted that he has entered into an arrangement while still serving as the CEO of ICANN and performing under a contract with the United States government, through which his future travel costs to the Chinese government’s state-sponsored World Internet Conference will be compensated. Travel compensation from the Chinese government can be a form of personal conflict of interest, which could impair Chehade’s ability to act impartially and in the best interest of the government when performing under the contract. As such, Chehade should recuse himself from all ICANN decisions that could impact the Chinese government, which include all negotiations and discussions pertaining to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition.” "
[--end of update--]
UPDATE (Feb 19, 2016): By letter (pdf)--embedded below--dated February 19, 2016, ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehade has replied to the letter sent by US Senators Cruz, Lankford & Lee (see further below). Interestingly, the letter sidesteps and does not answer some of the direct questions posed by the US Senators:
--end of update--
US Senator Ted Cruz (who is also currently running for nomination as the Republican candidate for US President), together with US Senators James Lankford and Michael S. Lee, have written to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade demanding answers about ICANN's participation in the World Internet Conference (WIC) and Chehade's serving as co-chair of a high-level advisory committee for the WIC. Specifically the Senators request a response from Chehade no later than 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2016 to the following questions:
(US Senators Cruz, Lankford, Lee letter embedded below, and available as pdf)
See also on Domain Mondo:
- After Wuzhen, Should ICANN President & CEO Fadi Chehade Be Fired?
- What ICANN CEO Chehade Has Been Up To: WSIS, Wuzhen Initiative
- What To Do With ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade? ICANN Board Chair Knows
- What Domain Mondo Will Be Watching For in 2016
Follow @DomainMondo
DISCLAIMER
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)