[bc-gnso] RE: Wyden calls for ICANN Ethics Rules

[Marilyn Cade <marilynscade@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to BC member, Phil Corwin, for posting the article below.
I should have mentioned this in our discussion on our Members call. Ethical 
behavior/integrity @ and within ICANN is an increasingly important topic, and 
we will be discussing our BC views about how we deal with conflicts, as many of 
our members, or potential members may seek to act as a registry for their brand 
name, but primarlly retain their 'user' status. 
But, beyond our own safeguards, and firewalls, ICANN's Board, its staff, and 
its policy making processes may be significantly challenged.  With appreciation 
for Phil forwarding this article, please read the BC transcript of the members 
recent call and start thinking about your own views about integrity and ethics 
within ICANN's various 'bodies' and for the Board. 
it is a tough topic but one we will take up with the Board in the CSG 
discussions in Dakar. To prepare for that, we have lots to consider, ourselves. 

Marilyn CadeBC Chair


 
http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=2e414e69-1250-4ca3-ae6b-2b6091ed52cc
 
Press Release of Senator Wyden

Wyden Calls for Ethics Rules to Prevent Revolving Door for Internet Domain Name 
Regulators

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Washington, D.C. – As the online community prepares for a massive expansion in 
potential domain names and the
 expiration of the contract with the non-profit, non-governmental organization 
responsible for domain name regulation, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) raised 
concerns about the potential for bias and unfair favoritism stemming from a 
revolving door between internet
 regulators and the multi-million dollar domain name industry they formerly 
regulated.

In a letter to Acting Commerce Department Secretary Rebecca Blank and Assistant 
Secretary Lawrence Strickling – the administrator of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA)
 – that is responsible for overseeing internet regulators. Wyden highlighted 
the need for ethics and transparency rules -- similar to that of Federal 
officials -- to be included in any contract with future domain name authorities 
known as an Internet Assigned
 Numbers Authority (IANA). The contract with the Internet Corporation for 
Assigned Numbers Authority (ICANN) is set to expire on September 30.

“As you know, any designated IANA is hugely important in regulating the 
multi-million dollar domain name industry,”
 Wyden said in the letter. “At the same time, because the IANA is not a branch 
of the federal government, its executive leadership is not subject to the same 
financial disclosure, ethics, or conflict of interest rules as executive 
leadership at federal agencies
 or in Congress.”

“While I support the control of this system by NTIA, I also believe that any 
IANA employees ought to be made subject to the same ethics rules in place as 
NTIA employees. With the growth in importance
 of this authority, it is important to ensure that decisions are made 
impartially,” Wyden continued in the letter.

Over the last decade, the selling of internet domain names has grown into a 
multi-million dollar industry and is poised to grow significantly as an 
expansion of potential domain name suffixes (ex:
 .com and .org) is implemented. However, ICANN – the non-profit that regulates 
these sales – is not a government agency and is not subject to the same ethics 
rules as other federal agencies. As news reports have indicated, a formerly 
high-ranking official at
 ICANN has left the organization and was immediately hired by one of the domain 
name companies regulated by ICANN. Wyden has raised concerns about the 
revolving door between the organization and the industry and called for strict 
ethics guidelines highlighting
 transparency at any future domain name regulator be worked into the upcoming 
contract negotiation.

Click here to read the letter.