[governance] US Congress & the JPA

[William Drake]

This doesn't sound promising from the perspective of immediate  
terminators.  Shared concerns, different conclusions.


http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2009/06/internet-group-skewered-by-hou.php


THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009

Internet Group Skewered By Lawmakers

A chorus of House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee  
members today called for an extension of the U.S. government's formal  
oversight agreement with the nonprofit that administers the Internet  
domain name system, citing concerns about the 11-year-old  
organization's transparency, accountability, budget processes, and  
stakeholder affairs. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and  
Numbers remains "far from a model of effective and sustainable self- 
governance" and it would be unwise to shrink the federal government's  
role amid increased cyber attacks and rapid Internet innovation,  
Rep.John Dingell, D-Mich., said at a hearing. Subcommittee ranking  
member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., Mike Doyle, D-Pa., John Shimkus, R-Ill.,  
and Lee Terry, R-Neb., each backed the extension of a joint project  
agreement between ICANN and the National Telecommunications and  
Information Administration.

"ICANN seems better at furthering its own interests than those of the  
millions of Internet users it's supposed to look out for," Doyle said.  
Terry and others emphasized the issue is a matter of national security  
and must be examined carefully." Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said ICANN  
does not have the independent, authoritative governance structure to  
keep other governments from abusing their power to interfere with  
Internet governance and citizens' use of the platform. Subcommittee  
Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., is reportedly drafting a letter to NTIA  
with the backing of Stearns and Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe  
Barton that recommends a one-year extension of the agreement. Boucher  
told Tech Daily Dose after the hearing that he had not made a firm  
decision on how to proceed but would be doing so in the near future.

ICANN President Paul Twomey insisted his group has improved its  
operation and has "passed the test" proposed in its original 1998  
arrangement with NTIA that a multi-stakeholder, private sector led  
could perform a narrow technical function. He also pointed out that a  
separate NTIA-ICANN deal pertaining to the global coordination of the  
domain name system's backbone and IP address allocation, which is the  
"key instrument of oversight," will not sunset. Twomey also warned  
that any temporary extension of the JPA will send a signal  
internationally that the U.S. government does not have faith in  
ICANN's industry driven model. For years, some foreign governments and  
stakeholders have called for alternatives to the existing governance  
structure like oversight by the United Nations or other international  
bodies.

Christine Jones, general counsel for Web hosting company GoDaddy, said  
ICANN has made great progress toward achieving the goals laid out as  
part of its formation but has "not yet achieved the competition or  
bottom-up representation called for" in its bylaws. Her company  
believes the JPA must not only be extended but also revised to include  
openness and transparency as overall guiding principles, she said.  
NTIA Associate Administrator Fiona Alexander told the subcommittee  
that regardless of whether the JPA is terminated, modified, or  
extended, her agency will be active as part of ICANN's Governmental  
Advisory Committee and by filing comments in various public  
consultations.

Twomey also pledged not to move forward on ICANN's introduction of new  
top-level domains, such as .biz, .info, and .us, until fraud-related  
fears by brand owners are addressed. ICANN plans to begin accepting  
applications for new domains in early 2010, which could bring in an  
initial $90 million for ICANN plus steep renewal fees. As a result,  
businesses and consumers will face higher Internet-related costs,  
Verizon Associate General Counsel Sarah Deutsch said. "ICANN has  
acknowledged concerns but has not adequately addressed them," she  
said, suggesting the group commission an impartial study of the domain  
name marketplace to gauge whether there is a need for hundreds of new  
domains and whether proposed changes would guard against cyber- 
squatting, fraud, and confusion.



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