[governance] Summary of IGP comments on the NTIA ICANN

Milton L Mueller mueller at syr.edu
Mon Jun 8 15:40:05 EDT 2009


Carlton:
Statistics are meaningless here.

Large trademark owners and other major U.S.-based business interests (VeriSign, GoDaddy) want to continue the JPA because it allows them to lobby the U.S.G. to get what they want if they don't get it in ICANN. these people cultivate very strong relationships with U.S. Congress.

ISOC-related people and organizations support independents for ICANN because they are basically in control of it.

Independent analysts of the situation, such as IGP, APC, the Swiss ccTLD registry, want strong action to fix ICANN's problems, but see unilateral US control as part of those problems rather than as part of the solution.

I don't know what's up with the African Union guy, I found his comments to be incoherent, perhaps you know where he's coming from? anyway he makes the same mistake so many others make, which is "if there's anything wrong with ICANN, then continuing the JPA will somehow make it better." which is way, way non sequitur.

Milton Mueller
Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies
XS4All Professor, Delft University of Technology
------------------------------
Internet Governance Project:
http://internetgovernance.org<http://internetgovernance.org/>



________________________________
From: carlton.samuels at gmail.com [mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.com] On Behalf Of Carlton Samuels
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 10:52 AM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Milton L Mueller
Subject: Re: [governance] Summary of IGP comments on the NTIA ICANN proceeding

I have been following the submissions and I would argue that purely on the stats, it appears the comments are decidedly in favour of continuance of JPA or instantiation of some form of USG oversight, no?

As it happens, the African Union is for continuance.  So are Verizon, VeriSign and some organization called the Coalition for Online Trademark Protection along with assorted others.  Vint Cerf and ISOC are for concluding JPA.

Carlton Samuels
The University of the West Indies

On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 10:20 PM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu<mailto:mueller at syr.edu>> wrote:
Only the summary, please go to the NTIA site for the complete comments.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/comments/2009/dnstransition/index.html
------

"The global challenges we face demand global institutions that work."
- President Barack Obama, 2008

ICANN lacks accountability and its processes are full of problems, but the JPA is not the right tool to use to fix them. The JPA contributes to ICANN's failings. Although it was intended to provide a vehicle for impartially assessing the adequacy of ICANN's legal and institutional framework for the global Internet, in reality it does nothing but invite the stakeholders in one privileged country to complain to their own government about policy outcomes they don't like. The U.S. government needs to let the JPA expire, and immediately initiate an international agreement that formalizes and completes the transition of ICANN to a stable form of multi-stakeholder global governance rooted in a nonprofit corporation. This international instrument should be used to provide a shared, global legal framework that can keep ICANN independent but accountable. It should be designed to keep ICANN focused on its narrow coordinating mission, to restore internal accountability of the Board to its membership, to check abuses by ICANN's Board, to delegate authority over ccTLDs to national governments, and to limit interference in or abuse of ICANN by governments. By taking the lead, the US can gain buy-in from other governments for its own model and ensure that the transition does not harm any of its own legitimate interests. But to succeed in completing the transition, the U.S. will have to win the acceptance of a critical mass of other countries and peoples.

Dr. Milton Mueller, Syracuse University School of Information Studies and XS4All Professor, Technology University of Delft, Netherlands
Brenden Kuerbis, Doctoral candidate, Syracuse University School of Information Studies
Dr. Michel van Eeten, Technology University of Delft, Netherlands
Dr. John Mathiason, Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Dr. Derrick Cogburn, School of International Service, American University Dr. Lee McKnight, Syracuse University School of Information Studies

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