[Governance] Letter to ICANN from California Attorney General re: sale of .ORG

[Ayden Férdeline]

Dear all,

There is a new development in the sale of the Public Interest Registry.

On Wednesday, the California Attorney General sent this well-researched letter to ICANN:

https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/becerra-to-botterman-marby-15apr20-en.pdf

I recommend reading the letter in its entirety, as it raises a number of very valid questions about ICANN's governance processes, the Internet Society, and the proposed sale:

"ISOC purports to support the Internet, yet its actions, from the secretive nature of the transaction, to actively seeking to transfer the .ORG registry to an unknown entity, are contrary to its mission and potentially disruptive to the same system it claims to champion and support. Assuming, arguendo, that Ethos Capital possesses ideas to improve PIR’s financial health, it is unclear what prevents PIR and ISOC from engaging in improvements now. No response has yet been provided supporting the proposition that as nonprofit corporations, PIR is currently restricted from engaging in new practices that would both improve their financial health while furthering their charitable mission.

There has been too little information provided about the sale process by which the proposed transfer sale was agreed to by ISOC. If ISOC was concerned about diversifying its revenue streams, what did ISOC do, if anything, before deciding to sell the .ORG registry agreement? Why did ISOC not conduct a competitive bid process for a new registry operator if it wanted a change in the registry operator? Did ISOC explore options other than a sale to a private equity firm, given that its nonprofit status was key to PIR becoming the .ORG registrar? What consultation, if any, did ISOC conduct with its stakeholders prior to proceeding with the proposed sale?"

In response to this letter, The Register reports[1] that ICANN has delayed making its decision on whether or not to 'sign off' on the change of control of the registry agreements.

Best wishes,

Ayden Férdeline

[1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/17/icann_california_org_sale_delay/
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