From ICANN WATCH:The ICANN Board has formally rejected the possibility of further
elections for At-Large directors. In a resolution adopted Thursday morning (Ghana
time), the Board stated that it had concerns about "the fairness, representativeness,
validity and affordability of global online elections," and concluded that elections
were not "the best means of achieving meaningful public representation or the informed
participation of Internet users in the ICANN process." The Board thus rejected the
key recommendation of its blue-ribbon At Large Study Committee. It indicated that
while it "appreciated" the committee's work, the committee's minimalist call for
a limited, scaled-back version of elections was still, well, unacceptable.
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The internet community is more likely to have concerns about "the fairness,
representativeness, validity and affordability of ICANN and its Board... given their
apparent desire to sideline public involvement, public accountability, and consumer
concerns.
When they say that elections were not "the best means of achieving meaningful
public representation" what they mean by "meaningful public representation" is actually
some facade of public involvement which allows ICANN to pursue its own agenda, maintain
its opaque transparency, and evade all real dialogue and openness with the internet
community at large.
The way in which Stuart Lynn decribed this forum (ICANN's own
forum) as "a joke" more or less sums up what ICANN thinks of public participation.
It
doesn't want awkward questions, and when awkward questions are asked, it just closes
down and refuses to engage in any dialogue at all.
Everyone knows this from the
records of this forum over recent months.
ICANN has failed to protect the consumer.
Consumers lost millions of dollars, for example, in the .info Sunrise scam "abomination"
(quote: Afilias director who resigned)...
ICANN continues to accredit, recommend
and advertise Registrars who have been shown to act in a fraudulent way, and the
consumer is left to perish.
No wonder ICANN does not want real public accountability.
The public are an awkward and inconvenient part of their equation.