Tag Archives: icann criticism

October, 2009

• 22 October

  Should ICANN be held more accountable?

  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 …
• 15 October

  INTA testifies against gTLDs and ICANN

  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 …

September, 2009

• 23 September

  CADNA calls for audit of 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 …
• 17 September

  ICANN receives letter of concern from Congress

  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 …
• 10 September

  Open letter to ICANN demands recognition of non-commercial users

  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 …

July, 2009

• 13 July

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

  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, …
• 6 July

  Is ICANN spending too much on travel?

  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, …