Google, Donuts Seek Improved ICANN Bylaws, Affirmation of Commitments
ICANN’s affirmation of commitments and bylaws should be strengthened to improve the organization’s accountability and transparency with stakeholders, commented companies and associations on ICANN’s accountability review process (http://bit.ly/1kBTnKV). The affirmation of commitments is a multistakeholder review process, agreed to by NTIA and ICANN in 2009, that many stakeholders regard as critical to maintaining ICANN’s accountability to stakeholders and the public. ICANN’s accountability review is being done in tandem with NTIA’s transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which has drawn controversy and criticism on Capitol Hill (CD June 2 p8).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
ICANN should create “specific performance goals” to be reviewed in an “independent audit,” which should examine its affirmation of commitments and bylaws, among others, said Google (http://bit.ly/1ooKKaB) among last week’s comments. Google suggested the creation of a full-time “clerk or parliamentarian” to help clarify ICANN rules and procedures for stakeholders. The “limited review” of ICANN’s board decisions should be expanded, said Google. Stakeholders with complaints should be able to file grievances with a “panel of independent arbitrators to be jointly selected by the complaining party and the [ICANN] Board,” it said. Any changes to ICANN’s bylaws should require its proposal be sent to ICANN stakeholders for a public comment period, and more than the current 66 percent of approval from ICANN’s board members, it said. The affirmation of commitments should be made binding and require more than a two-thirds vote by ICANN board members to terminate the commitments, it said. Google supports NTIA’s transition.
"Donuts vigorously supports the transition of IANA functions,” but recognizes that the “transition heightens the need to resolve longstanding accountability issues,” said the domain registry (http://bit.ly/1k0UbyA). The improvement of ICANN’s accountability has been “incremental and inconsistent,” and there is “a lack of sufficient oversight and checks” for the board, said Donuts. ICANN is “'accountable'” to the Commerce Department, but “that arrangement, as well as the affirmation of commitments” offers “virtually no functional recourse for ICANN stakeholders,” it said. ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade was correct in saying ICANN’s accountability review and the IANA transition “should be ‘interdependent,'” but “the completion of the accountability process” should be “made a prerequisite to completing the IANA transition,” said Donuts.
"Stronger accountability systems must be created prior to the ... (IANA) functions transition into multistakeholder oversight,” said the Software & Information Industry Association (http://bit.ly/1jN5ODi). SIIA said the affirmation of commitments should be included in “ICANN’s bylaws, including the Commitments on reviews.” To instill “confidence to the multistakeholder community,” ICANN should retain its policy of not changing its bylaws, “unless two thirds of qualified Board members vote in favor of changes,” it said. “Unanimous, or at a minimum super-majority (three quarters) Board decisions may in some cases be advisable.” ICANN’s Independent Review Process Panel function should be independently examined, said SIIA. “The review should include the question of how the cost of Panels in the event of losing can be made financially feasible for stakeholders with different financial means while at the same time designing a financial structure to ensure that frivolous claims against ICANN are kept to a minimum.”