[governance] ICANN DOC: The EU commission's perspective

[Ralf Bendrath]

So the "enhanced cooperation" that the EU had long fought for now only 
translates into "full privatization"? Or is there a known difference 
between the commission and the member states' governments?

Ralf

<http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1297&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en>

Internet Governance: Commission welcomes move towards full private-sector 
management by 2009

Reference:  IP/06/1297    Date:  02/10/2006

Internet Governance: Commission welcomes move towards full private-sector 
management by 2009

The United States government's decision to give more autonomy to the 
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was welcomed 
by the European Commission today. On 30 September, a highly prescriptive 
Memorandum of Understanding between the US Department of Commerce and 
ICANN expired. It has now been replaced by lighter arrangements intended 
to end definitely by 2009. The European Commission has been working for 
several years on a system of internet governance entrusted fully to the 
private sector without government interference in the internet's 
day-to-day management. The Commission cooperated in 1998 with the US in 
setting up ICANN and hosted, until 2006, the Secretariat of the 
Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to ICANN. Completing the transition 
of internet governance to the private sector also had been the explicit 
request by the EU and its partners at the World Summit on the Information 
Society in Tunis in November 2005 (see IP/05/1424 and IP/05/1433).

“I welcome the US government's declared intention to grant more autonomy 
to ICANN and to end its governmental oversight of the day-to-day 
management of the internet over the next three years,” said Viviane 
Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media. “This is a very 
important step towards full private-sector management of the internet, on 
which the EU has been working with various US administrations since 1998. 
We in Europe trust ICANN’s expertise and the unique multi-stakeholder 
model of consultation it represents. We consider ICANN to be best placed 
to ensure that the internet's international dimension is taken into 
account in organising the internet’s root directory. The European 
Commission will follow closely ICANN's transition to full independence in 
the next three years. With our advice, we will contribute to this 
transition to ensure that it takes place transparently, reflecting the 
interests of industry and civil society alike.”

Last Friday, a Memorandum of Understanding between the US Department of 
Commerce and ICANN, in force since 1998 and last renewed in 2003, ended. 
The EU had repeatedly questioned whether these arrangements, which allowed 
the US government to unilaterally oversee ICANN’s decisions, could still 
be reconciled with the internet's global role today. At the World Summit 
on the Information Society in Tunis in November 2005, the EU strongly 
supported the privatisation of the technical management of the worldwide 
domain name system in the hands of ICANN and had favoured an approach to 
internet governance that further removes government control from ICANN 
(see MEMO/05/428).

In the personal article “Privatise Internet Governance” in the Wall Street 
Journal of 16 November 2005, Commissioner Reding had stressed that 
“governments should not have a say in the day-to-day management of the 
Net.” Commissioner Reding herself later criticised interventions by the 
present US administration in ICANN decisions related to the recognition of 
new generic Top Level Domain names (such as .xxx).

Following a broad consultation of stakeholders, new arrangements have now 
been agreed between ICANN and the US Department of Commerce in the form of 
a “Joint Project Agreement” that took effect on 1 October. These new 
arrangements recognise the internationally-organised, non-profit 
corporation ICANN as being responsible, on an ongoing basis, for the 
management of the internet’s system of unique identifiers. With increased 
autonomy, as compared to the previous Memorandum of Understanding, ICANN will:

* no longer have its work prescribed for it. How it works and what it 
works on is up to ICANN and its community to devise.
* not be required to report every six months to the US Department of 
Commerce. It will now provide an annual report for the whole internet 
community.

The new “Joint Project Agreement” will expire in 2009, and it is the 
declared intention of the US administration that it will not be prolonged.

For the Commission, ICANN's increased autonomy builds on the international 
consensus on internet governance that arose at the World Summit on the 
Information Society in Tunis and from bilateral contacts with the US 
administration and ICANN since then. “We welcome the continued commitment 
of the US government to the stability and security of the internet with 
regard to the domain name system,” said Commissioner Reding. “We will 
continue our talks with the US and other interested parties on these 
important issues and will also use the process of enhanced cooperation 
between governments, as agreed at Tunis. Personally, I would welcome a 
reformed Governmental Advisory Committee to ICANN playing an increasingly 
important role.”

The Commission is currently preparing for the first meeting of the newly 
created Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that will be convened, as agreed 
at the Tunis summit, by the UN Secretary-General from 30 October to 3 
November in Athens. It aims to transparently discuss with civil society, 
industry and other non-government stakeholders broader internet governance 
topics – in particular development-related issues. “The Commission will 
continue to fight for the openness of the internet, for freedom of 
expression and for the freedom to receive and access information,” said 
Commissioner Reding, who will represent the European Commission at Athens. 
“Cyber-repression, whether required by governments or supported by 
commercial companies, is incompatible with Europe’s fundamental rights and 
Europe’s open and pluralist model of society.” (On this, see the European 
Commission's Communication “Towards a Global Partnership in the 
Information Society” adopted in April 2006; IP/06/542).

Further information:
European Commission website on internet governance issues:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/internationalrel/global_issues/wsis/index_en.htm
ICANN’s statement on the new arrangements in force until 2009:

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-29sep06.htm
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