[governance] Is ICANN "engaged in commerce" ?

[Karl Auerbach]

Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:

> This unequivocally underscores the public interest nature and purpose of 
> ICANN. ICANN is not "engaged in commerce" but is a structure set up to 
> serve the global public interest. Too many people seem to forget it.

Despite ICANN's statement to the contrary, ICANN is most certainly 
engaged in commerce of the worst sort, and to my mind, a most improper, 
sort.

ICANN can say many things.  Words are cheap.  But what ICANN does belies 
and supersedes what it says.

ICANN stands astride the marketplace of domain names.  ICANN engages in 
social, economic, and economic planning, largely on behalf of two 
incumbent groups - the intellectual property aggregation (as opposed to 
the intellectual property creation) industry and the DNS registry 
industry.  There is very little "public interest" or "public benefit" in 
that process.

What is commerce?  It is the ebb and flow of goods and services, vendors 
and consumers, innovators and builders.  ICANN not only swims in the 
waters of commerce; ICANN intends to affect, and does effect, the 
streams of commerce.  What are those trademarks that ICANN tries so hard 
to protect but the marks used to identify and distinguish the goods and 
services flowing in the channels of commerce?  And what are the registry 
fees except the prices that are paid by one group in commerce to another 
group engaged in commerce?

Indeed, virtually everything ICANN does is in commerce.  ICANN does not 
so much engage in commerce as it attempts to regulate it.  Indeed, it is 
fair to describe ICANN as a combination of incumbent economic interests 
that seeks to restrain the trade in domain name products and services.

Which is sad because ICANN has left undone exactly those things it was 
created to do.

ICANN was created to deal with some very limited technical issues. 
ICANN has not handled even one of those issues.  Consequently the same 
risks of internet instability that ICANN was intended to cure remain. 
Internet users and internet providers, people and businesses, are at 
risk of internet instability because ICANN has abandoned its post.

The internet community needed ICANN to be a fireman to protect against 
DNS fires.  Instead, ICANN has abandoned the firehouse and moved uptown.

		--karl--

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