[governance] Proposed statement on .ORG sale

[Sheetal Kumar]

 Dear all,

This is the final version of the letter, which we will be sending today. I
will cc in the list. Thanks to everyone for their active contributions.

Best
Sheetal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Subject: Letter from the Internet Governance Caucus re: the sale of .org*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 acquire the 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 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
greater legitimacy and wider influence. It allowed ISOC to take an even
more active role in shaping Internet infrastructure. In relinquishing its
control over PIR, ISOC would lose some of 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 and we call for more
inclusiveness in addition. 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 when making major decisions.

This is a major decision that 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 ISOC has taken with the values we thought ISOC
espoused. Accordingly, we call upon ISOC to withdraw from its negotiations
with Ethos Capital, and to withdraw from selling PIR, so to honor its
charter.

Sincerely yours,

Members of the Internet Governance Caucus (IGC)*

**The Internet Governance Caucus is composed of 500 individual members.
Please see more information on the IGC here:
https://igcaucus.org/igc-charter/ <https://igcaucus.org/igc-charter/>*

On Fri, 13 Dec 2019 at 20:16, Sylvain Baya <abscoco at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Thanks dear Ayden.
> Just one thing :-)
>
> ...add *inclusiveness* alongside with the recommendation for more
> *transparency*.
>
> Please see below (inline)...
>
> Le ven. 13 déc. 2019 4:54 PM, Ayden Férdeline <ayden at ferdeline.com> a
> écrit :
>
>> Thanks for this edit, Ian, and thanks to everyone who had shared their
>> input on this statement. I've pasted below what we have at present. I
>> apologise if I have missed any edits or failed to address any concerns - if
>> so, please can you advise. Thanks again and enjoy your weekend!
>>
>> Best wishes, Ayden Férdeline
>> ====
>>
>> *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 acquire the 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 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
>> greater legitimacy and wider influence. It allowed ISOC to take an even
>> more active role in shaping Internet infrastructure. In relinquishing its
>> control over PIR, ISOC would lose some of 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. *
>>
>
> “*...the proposed sale of PIR, and we call for more inclusiveness in
> addition.*”
>
> Thanks.
>
> Shalom,
> --sb.
>
> *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 when making major decisions. *
>>
>> *This is a major decision that 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 ISOC has taken with the values we thought ISOC
>> espoused. Accordingly, we call upon ISOC to withdraw from its negotiations
>> with Ethos Capital, and to withdraw from selling PIR, so to honor its
>> charter.*
>>
>> *About the Internet Governance Caucus*
>>
>> *The members of the Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) are individuals,
>> acting in their personal capacity, who subscribe to IGC's charter. The IGC
>> is guided by its vision and mission, included below.*
>>
>> *Vision*
>>
>> *The policies that shape the Internet impact not only the development of
>> the technologies themselves, but also the realization of internationally
>> agreed human rights, social equity and interdependence, cultural concerns,
>> and both social and economic development. Our vision is that Internet
>> governance should be inclusive, people centered and development oriented.
>> Our contributions to the various forums relevant to Internet governance,
>> will strive to ensure an information society which better enables equal
>> opportunity and freedom for all.*
>>
>> *Mission*
>>
>> *The mission of the Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) is to provide a
>> forum for discussion, advocacy, action, and for representation of civil
>> society contributions in Internet governance processes. The caucus intends
>> to provide an open and effective forum for civil society to share opinion,
>> policy options and expertise on Internet governance issues, and to provide
>> a mechanism for coordination of advocacy to enhance the utilization and
>> influence of Civil Society (CS) and the IGC in relevant policy processes.*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>> [...]
>>
>

-- 


*Sheetal Kumar*
Senior Programme Lead | GLOBAL PARTNERS DIGITAL
Second Home, 68-80 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JL
T: +44 (0)20 3 818 3258| M: +44 (0)7739569514  |
PGP ID: E592EFBBEAB1CF31  | PGP Fingerprint: F5D5 114D 173B E9E2 0603 DD7F
E592 EFBB EAB1 CF31|
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