[governance] Report Public Hearing

Mon May 4 20:09:01 EDT 2009

Ian,
This appears to be a message for the flagpole to see who salutes but even at
this stage, I share your concern.

As I read it, the EU Commissioner's construct emphatically channel a rump of
the G20 as supplanting and increasing the role of the GAC in the current
ICANN dispensation at the expense of civil society actors, including the
At-Large.

Hopefully those from civil society groups in Brussels will make the case for
a more inclusive role for civil society.

Carlton Samuels
The University of the West Indies ALS and member, LACRALO

On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 4:50 PM, Ian Peter <ian.peter at ianpeter.com> wrote:

>  This is an interesting if predictable development. One concern I would
> have if it developed is that a fully privatised ICANN taking recommendations
> from a G12 (with or without the end of the JPA) leaves civil society input
> to the unpredictable channels of NCUC and ALAC, both of which could
> disappear in any future review that views ICANN as an industry regulator.
>
> Interested in other thoughts here. This might gather speed with governments
> as a sensible step forward – and although Reding sees this as a replacement
> for JPA, G12 might as well exist with or without JPA as an alternative to
> GAC for higher level governmental involvement.
>
> Interested in what others think about this or what impressions those
> attending this meeting might have about the chance of this gathering
> momentum. In any case I am concerned about the civil society role in such a
> model.
>
> Ian Peter
>
>
>
>
> On 5/05/09 7:33 AM, "jlfullsack" <jlfullsack at wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>
> Dear all
>
> In order to save a great amount of carbon dioxyde emission for the "public"
> to travel to Brussels for attending the May 6th Hearing, EU Commissioner
> Viviane Reding has already worked out the Meeting (draft) Report and
> proposes it for possible minor amendments and endorsement (see below) by the
> "invited partipants".
>
> As Meryem would say : Enjoy !
> Jean-Louis Fullsack
>
> *IP/09/696 *
>
>   Brussels, 4 May 2009
>
> *Internet Governance: EU Commissioner Reding calls for full privatisation
> and full accountability of ICANN as of 1 October
> In a video posted on her website this morning, Viviane Reding, EU-
> Commissioner for Information Society and Media, called for greater
> transparency and accountability in Internet Governance as of October 2009.
> Key decisions related to Internet Governance, like top level domains and
> managing the internet's core directory, are currently made by the Internet
> Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private not-for profit
> corporation established in California. So far, ICANN has been operating
> under an agreement with the US Department of Commerce. However, this
> agreement expires on 30 September this year. For the time after,
> Commissioner Reding today outlined a new governance model for the internet.
> This would include a fully private and accountable ICANN, accompanied by an
> independent judicial body, as well as a "G12 for Internet** Governance" ˆ
> a multilateral forum for governments to discuss general internet governance
> policy and security issues.
> **"I trust that President Obama will have the courage, the wisdom and the
> respect for the global nature of the internet to pave the way in September
> for a new, more accountable, more transparent, more democratic and more
> multilateral form of Internet Governance," *said EU* *Commissioner Viviane
> Reding in her Internet video message this morning.* "The time to act is
> now. And Europe will be ready to support President Obama in his efforts."*
>
> Reding stressed that* "a moment of truth will come on 30 September this
> year, when the current agreement between ICANN and the US Government
> expires. This opens the door for the full privatisation of ICANN; and it
> also raises the question of to whom ICANN should be accountable, as from 1
> October."
> *
> ICANN deals with some of most sensitive issues related to Internet
> Governance, such as top level domains or management of the internet address
> system that ensures that millions of computers can connect to each other.
> ICANN was established in 1998 in California, under an agreement with the US
> government.
>
> *"Accountability of ICANN is a must,"* said Reding. *"The Clinton
> administration's decision to progressively privatize the internet's domain
> name and addressing system is the right one. In the long run, it is not
> defendable that the government department of only one country has oversight
> of an internet function which is used by hundreds of millions of people in
> countries all over the world."
> *
> EU Commissioner Reding also outlined how *a new model of Internet
> Governance* could be shaped after 30 September. It could include in
> particular the following:
>
>    - *A fully privatised and independent  ICANN* complying  with the best
>    standards of corporate governance, in particular with those on  financial
>    transparency and internal accountability, and subject to effective  judicial
>    review.
>    - A multilateral forum where  governments can discuss general internet
>    governance policy issues, such as a  *"G12 for Internet Governance"* ˆ
>    an informal group of government  representatives that meets at least twice a
>    year and can make, by majority,  recommendations to ICANN where appropriate.
>    This group would provide swift  reaction in case of threats to the
>    stability, security and openness of the  internet. To be geographically
>    balanced, this "G-12 for Internet Governance"  would include two
>    representatives from each North America, South America,  Europe and Africa,
>    three representatives from Asia and Australia, as well as  the Chairman of
>    ICANN as a non-voting member. International Organisations with  competences
>    in this field could be given observer  status.
>
> On 6 May, the European Commission will host a first public hearing in
> Brussels to give Europe's Internet Community a chance to voice their
> expectations for the future of Internet Governance.
>
> *Background
> *
> For many years, the European Union has played a major role in international
> discussions on Internet Governance. The European Commission has repeatedly
> called for a system of internet governance fully entrusted to the private
> sector without government interference in the internet's day-to-day
> management (see IP/06/1297
> <http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1297&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr><http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1297&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr>) and has been supporting an open multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on
> internet governance and development (IP/06/1491
> <http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1491&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en><http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1491&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en>). The European Commission also participates in the Governmental Advisory
> Committee <http://gac.icann.org/> <http://gac.icann.org/>  of the Internet
> Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), whose main purpose is to
> advise ICANN on public policy aspects of its coordination activities.
>
> *Commissioner Reding's video message is available at*:
>
> http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/reding/video/index_en.htm
> <http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/reding/video/index_en.htm><http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/reding/video/index_en.htm>
>
> Further information on the public hearing on Internet Governance, organised
> by the European Commission on 6 May in Brussels will be available at the
> following link:
>
> http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/internet_gov/index_en.htm
> <http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/internet_gov/index_en.htm><http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/internet_gov/index_en.htm>
>
>
>
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