[governance] DOC & ICANN

[Milton Mueller]

>>> wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de 9/30/2006 
>There are some interesting elements in the new agreement between DOC
>and ICANN, in particular in the Annex. 

Having quickly read the new agreement, I can say now that the new
document seems to respond to the overwhelming demand of the public for
more independence from the US government, but it does so mainly in
rhetorical terms. It dresses the old MoU in new clothes. 

It more strongly affirms the parties' intention to transition to the
private sector, and it urges ICANN to work on its accountability, both
of which were called for by many commentors in the NTIA NOI. 

But the new document is no less prescriptive than the last one.
Indeed,
in at least one area that should be of interest to human rights
advocates, WHOIS, it is drastically more prescriptive,
insisting that "ICANN shall continue to enforce existing policy
relating
to WHOIS," and that the existing policy requires that icann maintain
"timely, unrestricted and public access to accurate and complete Whois
information." It even specifies what kind of contact information and
the
prescription seems particularly targeted at current GNSO activity,
which
would elimninate the distinction btween administrative and technical
contact. So clearly the US continues to meddle in the icann's policy
process via its contractual arrangement.

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