[governance] Proposed statement on .ORG sale

[Daniel Pimienta]

Just some tiny detailed though meaningful changes I would like to 
suggest : replacing "will" by "would" in all place referring to the 
consequences of the sale, so to clearly show that we take it as a 
conditional sale not as an irremediable decision. Plus some minor 
suggestions of wording, placed in different color with the part to be 
replaced in parenthesis to mean that what it as stake is TRUST.

On 10/12/2019 10:59, Ayden Férdeline wrote:
>
> /To:    Gonzalo Camarillo, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Internet 
> Society//
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /As members of a network which encompasses many non-commercial 
> organizations and individuals, we are concerned by the announcement 
> that Ethos Capital intends to acquirethe assets of the Public Interest 
> Registry (PIR) from the Internet Society (ISOC), including the .ORG, 
> .NGO, and .ONG Registry Agreements. We ask that this sale be called 
> off. //
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /Principally, we are concerned that the sale of PIR to a private 
> entity investment firm (will) would significantly alter the Domain 
> Name System and weaken ISOC. PIR played an important role, as the only 
> remaining non-commercial top-level domain registry operator, in 
> serving as a counterbalance against commercial exploitation. PIR ran 
> .ORG, .NGO, and .ONG for the benefit of its users, whereas other 
> top-level domains are run by private companies with purely financial 
> objectives. While the interests of companies and users do at times 
> overlap, they can also conflict, and when this occurs there are 
> significant human rights implications. PIR, as a subsidiary of ISOC, 
> could be relied upon to do what was best for domain name registrants, 
> and has a proud history of doing just that. However, PIR also gave 
> ISOC legitimacy and influence. It allowed ISOC to take an active role 
> in shaping Internet infrastructure. In relinquishing its control over 
> PIR, ISOC would lose its ability to directly impact how millions of 
> people around the world positively experience the Internet every day, 
> and we think that is a great pity.//
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /We understand that Ethos Capital approached ISOC with an offer in 
> September 2019 and that an agreement had been reached to sell PIR by 
> November 2019. This secret process caught us, and everyone, unaware, 
> not just of the transaction but of the urgency to divest of PIR. //
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /We join ICANN in its 9 December 2019 letter calling for ISOC to be 
> more transparent about the proposed sale of PIR. We ask that ISOC 
> commit to publishing on its website all correspondence and documents 
> exchanged with ICANN in relation to the proposed change in control of 
> PIR. In addition, we ask that ISOC commit to publishing on its website 
> any filings (including motions and petitions) in the Pennsylvania 
> Orphans' Court relating to the change in status of the PIR.//
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /We expect an organization that operates in the public interest, and 
> who promotes the values of openness, trust, and transparency, to be 
> coherent with those values (open and transparent) when making (about) 
> major decisions. //
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /This is a major decision that (will) would result in a significant 
> change, for ISOC and for the Internet community, and it has been 
> proposed a) without a human rights impact assessment being conducted, 
> b) without consultation with impacted stakeholders, and c) without 
> appropriate safeguards in place to protect the interests of .ORG, 
> .NGO, and .ONG registrants and the people who visit their websites 
> every day. //
> /
>
> /
> /
>
> /ISOC has successfully stewarded .ORG via PIR for 17 years, gaining a 
> reputation as a careful manager of a resource that truly is the global 
> home for nonprofits and the noncommercial community. Given this 
> background, and ISOC’s stated commitments to transparency and 
> openness, we are unable to reconcile the path that you have taken with 
> the values we (thought) trusted ISOC espoused. Accordingly, we call 
> upon ISOC to withdraw from its negotiations with Ethos Capital, to 
> withdraw from selling PIR, so (and) to honor its charter.//
> /
>
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