Comments on the Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT 2) Final Report & Recommendations

[Chhun Chy <chhun.chy@xxxxxxxxx>]

Comments on the Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT 2) 
Final Report & Recommendations

Submitted by ICANN staff on behalf of:

Robert Vaessen

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Complaints to the ICANN Ombudsman went unaddressed / dismissed without factual 
consideration or documented investigation


Hello -

On the 8th of September, 2013, I sent an email complaint to the ICANN Ombudsman 
(Chris LaHatte). My complaint outlined issues that I and others have noted over 
the last several years. These issues are/were well documented by Garth Bruen' 
of KnujOn. I sent my complaint to the Ombudsman but it was not investigated and 
the Ombudsman did not respond to my complaint or any of the specific issues 
cited in my complaint. I received three replies from the Ombudsman regarding my 
complaint. The first (Sep 9, 2013) indicated that the Ombudsman had commenced 
an investigation.  The second (Sep 15, 2013) indicated that a draft report 
would be available by the end of this week'. The next/final email (Sep 29, 
2013) indicated that the draft report wasn't finished, and the Ombudsman would 
need to talk to more people before he could complete his investigation. I have 
not received further communication from the Ombudsman. I learned of the results 
of the Ombudsman's investigation from Mr. Bruen.  As I indicated, not only were 
my complaints not investigated properly, I was never provided with any findings 
regarding my complaints (Yes I read the Ombudsman's report, and I found his 
dismissal of all complaints to be unacceptable).

The role of the Ombudsman needs to be reviewed because it does not represent 
the "concerns of the Internet user." I support Mr. Bruen in his efforts to 
demand an ICANN that functions properly. An ICANN that documents, implements, 
and follows enforcement actions designed to reduce fraud, corruption and abuse. 
Lax enforcement in ICANN requirements and regulations is directly responsible 
for the free operation of entities and individuals who defraud, victimize, and 
abuse internet users on a daily basis.

(FYI: I found out today (18 Feb, 2014) that my previous comments (sent to 
<comments-atr2-recommendations-21oct13@xxxxxxxxx>) were probably discarded. I 
now have to send my comments to 
<comments-atr2-recommendations-09jan2014@xxxxxxxxx>. The fact that I have had 
to send these comments to the same people three different times (once to the 
Ombudsman, and twice to the ICANN board). As far as I can tell, my comments, 
and the comments of many other Internet users are routinely ignored by ICANN's 
compliance department. When will our comments/concerns be taken seriously? The 
lack of compliance enforcement is the reason why spammers can get away with 
falsification of registrant data, which allows them to operate without any 
regard for the laws of the United States and many other nations.

- Robert Vaessen

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