[governance] ICANN head warns against putting Internet

Thu May 27 12:14:40 EDT 2010

Dear George,

Thanks for the challenge :-) This is the topic of the whole accountability
and transparency review, as well as the consultation on meeting
organization, both currently ongoing. A few remarks though.

I'm not sure that nimbleness is the principal adjective that would come to
mind for an organization that - legitimately - is more and more developing
global policies in its specific domain, acting as the regulator of the
semantic spectrum and as the competition authority for the secondary domain
name market. The right criteria are more about trust, public interest,
inclusion and capacity to build consensus. Reactivity, capacity to keep up
with change and adapt to new challenges or even anticipate them, sure that
can probably be qualified as being nimble, but we are not in Jon Postel time
any more and you know that the picture is broader. And the challenges
higher.

But I'm not someone to shy away from your concrete question. Let me give one
single answer (in addition to the numerous comments made in writing or
orally in ICANN processes, that all point in the same direction).

Let's take nimbleness as the capacity to address and resolve, in a timely
manner, key policy issues. What could help ICANN be better at that ?

One suggestion is : a key factor of efficiency for any policy-making process
is to ask the right questions, to get out of false alternatives, as they
invariably lead to endless and inconclusive debates.

Let's take a very concrete example currently generating more than 1200
emails (so far) on the list regarding vertical integration for new gTLDs (or
vertical separation) and apologies for those on the list who are not versed
in the intricacies of ICANN-speak. The question asked by the Board is :
should there be or should there not be vertical integration/separation ? An
all or nothing alternative. Are you surprised that it only pitches opposite
vested interests one against the other, with most other stakeholders
watching helplessly ? Wouldn't the discussion be more efficient if the
question were : "when and why should there be vertical separation ? and for
what purpose ?". Maybe there is a better wording. But certainly the current
debate has started on a wrong basis.

Jovan Kurbalija once told me : "the major difficulty in Internet Governance
is closure". Being able to take decisions in a truly deliberative process
involving all stakeholders is a major challenge. No doubt about it. But
asking the right questions is critical to consensus-building and identifying
them is the priority task.

As for Adam's remarks, I have sufficiently defended the "embodiment of WSIS
Principles in Internet Governance processes" (to recall one of the mandates
of the IGF) and the participation of all stakeholders in UN organizations to
understand fully what he means. And he's right.

ICANN will strengthen its legitimacy by being every day truer to its
commitments to participatory processes and by continuing to improve them.
Governments in the Tunis Agenda (para 55) have "*recognize(d) that ** the
existing arrangements for Internet governance have worked effectively to
make the Internet the highly robust, dynamic and geographically diverse
medium that it is today, with the private sector taking the lead in
day-to-day operations, and with innovation and value creation at the edges*
". ICANN or UN is not the valid question today. The right question is : "how
to make ICANN fit for the growing tasks at hand ?"

Answering it is our common responsibility. And it needs to be answered.

Best

Bertrand

On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 4:37 PM, George Sadowsky <
george.sadowsky at attglobal.net> wrote:

> Bertrand,
>
> Given Adam's comments below, perhaps you would be willing to suggest some
> concrete areas in which ICANN could be more nimble (or choose your own
> adjectives) while ensuring responsiveness to community inputs.
>
> George
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
> At 6:43 PM +0900 5/27/10, Adam Peake wrote:
>
>> At 11:06 AM +0200 5/27/10, Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:
>>
>>> ICANN, NIMBLE ???? :-))
>>>
>>> Not that replacing it with a UN body would improve things. The challenge
>>> is how to build a more international, more globally accountable and public
>>> interest oriented ICANN, not the mere alternative : either the way ICANN
>>> (dis)functions today or another, even more unappealing option. The AoC paves
>>> a way forward.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Exactly.  I think we would all question whether ICANN was nimble (but at
>> the same time many of us are asking for increased checks and balances, added
>> process such as additional time for comment and translation, that make is
>> less nimble... though there are other larger factors.)  But very clear from
>> the AoC, and that ICANN conducts regular reviews, supports policy
>> development bodies representing different stakeholders, that it does
>> consider multistakeholder participation important and does attempt to
>> evolve.  Of all the organizations asked by the secretary general for input
>> on enhanced cooperation has any other organization done more to address
>> para's 66-71 of the Tunis Agenda?
>>
>> Some have done absolutely nothing.
>>
>> At the World Telecommunication Development Conference, Hyderabad, today,
>> ITU is again discussing how it will extend its reach into cybersecurity, ICT
>> applications and Internet-related issues (of course IP address allocation,
>> TLD management and control etc.)  Is there a non-commercial stakeholders
>> group in Hyderabad able to join the discussion, a group for end users able
>> to draft responses on all documents and policy...
>>
>> Back to the recent thread on CSTD begun by Anriette's very helpful note,
>> it's the failure of some organizations to address the Tunis Agenda we should
>> be demanding governments address.
>>
>> Can someone remind me what are the Geneva Principles on Internet
>> governance.
>>
>> Adam
>>
>>
>>  Will we collectively be able to move in the right direction ? That is the
>>> right question.
>>>
>>> B.
>>>
>>> On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 10:43 AM, Ginger Paque <<mailto:gpaque at gmail.com
>>> >gpaque at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> ICANN head warns against putting Internet addresses under UN control
>>>
>>> Posted by Andrew Adams:
>>>
>>> This (Canadian) Globe and Mail article includes details of Beckstrom's
>>> recent
>>> statements against UN oversight of ICANN.
>>>
>>> <http://tinyurl.com/38m78m2>http://tinyurl.com/38m78m2
>>>
>>> Summary: UN oversight would make ICANN "less nimble" according to
>>> Beckstrom.
>>>
>>> My opinion: could ICANN really be any less nimble given how glacial it is
>>> at
>>> introducing innovative ideas? Perhaps more international oversight could
>>> pressure ICANN into prioritising the real needs of users and less the
>>> concerns of staff which may or may not coincide with user needs.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Professor Andrew A Adams
>>> Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration, and
>>> Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics
>>> Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>> --
>>> ____________________
>>> Bertrand de La Chapelle
>>> Délégué Spécial pour la Société de l'Information / Special Envoy for the
>>> Information Society
>>> Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes/ French Ministry of
>>> Foreign and European Affairs
>>> Tel : +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32
>>>
>>> "Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de
>>> Saint Exupéry
>>> ("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
>

-- 
____________________
Bertrand de La Chapelle
Délégué Spécial pour la Société de l'Information / Special Envoy for the
Information Society
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes/ French Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs
Tel : +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32

"Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de Saint
Exupéry
("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")
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