Re: [atlarge-discuss] My choices for a leadership team

[DannyYounger@cs.com]

Dear Prof. Solum,

I can well appreciate your desire to keep government at an arm's length from 
the internet.  On the other hand, as a consumer (user) there are times when 
governmental involvement in regulatory matters pertaining to a public trust 
would seem to be warranted.  

Let me cite but one example.  Currently as consumers in the US we have a 
choice of long-distance carriers and can freely switch without undue 
encumbrances from one supplier of such services to another (and without the 
prospect of slamming that was prevalent years ago).  This is not true, 
however, within the domain name industry where such unfettered portability 
remains an issue and where slamming seems to be the practice du jour.

ICANN has already stated unequivocally that it has no power to deal with 
domain name "transfers" as it is not a signatory to the registry-registrar 
agreements wherein such matters (under Exhibit B) are covered.  This leaves 
the user community at the mercy of unscrupulous commercial forces with no 
Sheriff in town.

In such circumstances, the regulatory intervention of the US government might 
well be a welcome event... at least FCC actions are governed by the 
requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act and sufficient recourse is 
provided to the public to ensure that their views are well-considered prior 
to the commencement of any such action.

My point:  the government isn't always to be feared.  They have acted to 
protect the users of telecommunication products and could equally act in 
similar fashion to protect users of domain names.  

The White Paper was a statement of US Policy that was heavily relied upon in 
the drafting of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of 
Commerce and the ICANN organization.  In my view, there is little risk in 
lobbying members of Congress to ensure that as a matter of policy the user 
community is well represented within the ICANN management structures.  

I get the impression that you believe that the risk is indeed higher than 
that which I am asserting... perhaps you could expand upon your argument... 
clearly these are serious strategic considerations, and we must exercise 
utmost care.  I look forward to hearing your additional thoughts on this 
topic.

Best regards,
Danny Younger




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