I read a great opinion piece by blogger Eileen Yu this morning about the Affirmation of Commitments (AOC) and ICANN. She argues that while the AOC has diversified Internet leadership, it does nothing to hold ICANN accountable.

Total investment in the web today is many times what is what in 1998 when the agency was founded. More people have Internet connections then ever. One would think that given ICANN’s increased responsibilities, it would be held more accountable. Instead, it has been turned loose.

I personally do not trust ICANN to act in the best interest of netizens. Time and time again it has shown its partiality towards corporate interests, and its inability to keep order. We need a government framework for the web that isn’t so biased.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Should ICANN be held more accountable?

At a congressional hearing last month regarding ICANN’s new gTLD system, International Trademark Association (INTA) President Richard Heath testified against the new program.

Using the current 21 gTLDs as examples, Heath argued that allowing unlimited generic extensions would increase consumer confusion, decrease Internet security and safety, tarnish brands, and increase business costs. To counter ICANN’s oft-made claim that new gTLDs will increase competition and benefit the economy, he made it clear that no empirical research has been done to back up this claim.

He also blasted ICANN for its inability to regulate a web full of ever-increasing abuses, stating:

Despite the hard work of the ICANN Board and staff, Mr. Chairman, we see significant increases in abuses of the domain name system and inadequate management by ICANN to address the problems, including their inability to enforce contracts.

Continue reading: INTA testifies against gTLDs and ICANN

CADNA, a non-profit organization often at odds with ICANN, has called for a full audit of the Internet governing agency– exactly one week before the expiration of the JPA.

CADNA wants the government to carefully investigate ICANN’s policies, structure, governance, and oversight methods before any changes are made to the JPA. Josh Bourne, President of CADNA, said:

ICANN is broken. We’re releasing our “Top Ten List” of things wrong with ICANN and proposing a full- scale audit of the nonprofit organization that controls Internet policy.

The “Top Ten List” explains ten problems the government would find wrong with ICANN if a full examination of the agency were conducted:

1. ICANN is a captured regulator
2. ICANN is not independent
3. ICANN is not transparent
4. ICANN is more interested in making a profit than working for the benefit of Internet users
5. ICANN is not accessible
6. ICANN is failing to address numerous issues corrupting the Internet
7. ICANN’s proposed gTLD rollout is poorly conceived
8. ICANN is not looking at itself critically
9. ICANN is risking cybersecurity, national security, and global security
10. ICANN’s relationship with the US government does not span all relevant agencies

Personally, I feel CADNA has a point. ICANN has a very poor track record and their motives are often open to question. I think the Internet would be a much better place if the government paid more attention to ICANN.

Source | SOA World

Continue reading: CADNA calls for audit of ICANN

Two high-ranking Republicans from the House Judiciary Committee– Lamar Smith, R-TX, and Howard Coble, R-NC– sent a letter to new ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom this week expressing concern about the new gTLD system and the expiration of the JPA, slated to occur in less than two weeks.

The two expressed worry over “serious negative consequences” that could result if the new domain system is implemented, such as increased fraud, cybersquatting, and confusion among Internet users. They were also worried about how the lack of price caps on the new extensions would affect American businesses.

Smith and Coble also stated that they have “serious misgivings” about the expiration of the JPA given ICANN’s “less than stellar track record.” They have asked Beckstrom to respond provide more details about the gTLD system and the termination of the JPA by September 22.

Source | Nextgov
Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: ICANN receives letter of concern from Congress

The Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC) sent an open letter to ICANN this week, criticizing the organization for its failure to pay attention to non-commercial Internet users like you and I. It was sent in response to the recent approval of a new charter by ICANN that favors commercial groups and discourages input from the general public.

According to NCUC Chair Robin Gross:

ICANN’s decision has resulted in significant damage to ICANN’s credibility within global civil society and has fueled further distrust towards ICANN’s decision making process. Its treatment of noncommercial users in this instance has significantly called into question ICANN’s legitimacy to govern and its ability to protect the global public interest.

Continue reading: Open letter to ICANN demands recognition of non-commercial users

Forget about problems like cybersquatting, unethical registrar practices, and the blatant commercialization of domains ICANN has allowed to go on for years. Oh no, everything is fine at the California organization. In a recent statement, new CEO Rod Beckstrom eased all doubts:

There will always be different voices out there, but the ultimate proof that ICANN is functioning properly is that the Internet is functioning properly.

Really, Mr. Beckstrom? Really? I think ICANN’s new leader needs to learn more about his audience. Domainers are smart people who know their trade well. They understand the web, its history, and many are also adept server admins and programmers. Who does Beckstrom think he is speaking to, primary school children?

The CEO may have just started, but he needs to learn that a little fast talk isn’t enough to quell the worries of the domaining world. Many notables, including Congress and the EU, have criticized the organization’s performance and structure. And their attacks have been fair and certainly well overdue.

Continue reading: Beckstrom: "ICANN is functioning properly [because] the Internet is functioning properly"

ICANN is no newcomer to criticism and flak. Today, it had to defend itself from another attack: excess travel spending.

This year, ICANN has budgeted £7.68 ($12.48 million USD) out of its £33.46 ($54.37 million USD) budget for travel. For an organization that holds only three international meetings a year, this seems like quite a bit. Bloggers are suggesting that ICANN does not need this sort of travel budget and can use alternatives like email and teleconferencing to handle their international communication needs.

Brad White, ICANN’s director of media affairs, defended the spending:

We deliberately go to a different continent every meeting, because the Internet is global. There’s a lot of international travel by the hundred some odd employees, board members, and the people that are associated with ICANN. It’s something that we feel obligated to do. Most of us are traveling not because we want to travel. We want to inform.

ICANN’s travel spending accounts for nearly 23% of its budget. How many companies spend one fifth of their money on travel? While I don’t doubt its employees need to travel, the organization needs to be more open about its expenditures if it wants to avoid these kinds of attacks. It should release a list of employee travel details, including the cost of airfare, length of stay, and purpose of visit. After all, ICANN is the de facto authority of the domain industry. If we don’t hold them accountable, who will?

Source: WSJ

Continue reading: Is ICANN spending too much on travel?