[atlarge-discuss] Canadian Consultation paper/process on: Reforms to theInternet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)

[espresso@e-scape.net]

This is what the Canadian government is putting forward in its position paper, which is subject to modification as a result of the public consultation:

>4. Directors 
>
>With regard to the make-up of the Board, it is the suggested Canadian position that government appointees should NOT sit on the Board of Directors. However, Canada suggests that the Chair of the GAC sit as an ex officio non-voting member of the Board. 
>
>The Chair of the GAC would be the only non-voting director. The other twelve directors would be voting directors. Having the Chair of the GAC as a voting member may unduly constrain the Chair. For example, the Chair may be put in an awkward situation where there is no consensus within the GAC on a particular issue and the Chair is expected to vote. As an ex officio director, the Chair could play an important role by bringing information to the Board regarding issues which have been deliberated by the GAC. Since it is not reasonable to expect that one person can represent the interests of all governments represented in the GAC and vote on their behalf, the role of the Chair would be to provide information and shed light on the many issues which come before the Board.
>
>One director should be elected or appointed from each of ICANN's five affiliate groups, as outlined above (ccTLDs, gTLD registrars and registries, RIRs and Root Server Operators). The Chair of the proposed Technical Committee (see ICANN: A Blueprint for Reform) and the President/CEO of ICANN would also be voting directors. 
>
>The At-Large Study Committee's proposal to elect at-large directors online, perhaps with domain name holders as the electorate, is worthy of consideration. However, many concerns have been raised regarding the feasibility of online elections. If online elections are not currently feasible, the ICANN Board should report back periodically-at least annually-on any change in the status of their feasibilty. In the interim, the establishment of a Nominating Committee is an acceptable solution for nominating the five remaining directors.
>
>In the longer term, Canada is supportive of five directors being at-large directors elected by domain name holders in on-line elections. Although there is a concern that seats will be "captured" with online elections, the combination of having a Nominating Committee and regional representation should diminish the likelihood of capture. As for having domain name holders as the electorate, this electorate would be broadly based and would represent both users and business interests. Domain name ownership is a reasonable "threshold" for validating voters. 
>

I haevn't written my commentary yet but, needless to say, one of the items I will comment on is the likelihood that a small ICANN-owned Nominating Committee to name the directors who will theoretically represent an electorate which may one day be allowed to vote if the ICANN Board ever decides to let them.

Anyway, I feel strongly that online voting will be feasible even at the present state of technology if 
a) there is a suitable method of voter identification (more easily done at this point for domain name owners but hardly impossible otherwise if a PIN-plus-password system is used and requires e-mail confirmations which do not contain both)
b) there is provision for multiple servers to handle the surge of traffic during a short voting period (under the control of a neutral authority, not the ICANN Board itself, of course)
c) there is a mechanism whereby once the prospective voter's identity has been confirmed, the e-ballot itself carries no personal identification and/or is suitably encrypted
d) there is a good formula for vote-counting (under appropriate neutral scrutiny and possibly along the lines of what was used in ICANN's At Large 2000 elections.

I'm not a died-in-the-wool geek but, on the basis of what I've read, I think  all of those components do exist and the obstacles to such elections are more in the nature of reluctance to spend the money on enfranchising ordinary mortals or not understanding that one can set up the process on a secure (non-Microsoft) server, not ask for ballots as Word attachments, and use a filter to keep Klez and Sircam from clogging up the system if they try to vote. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Regards,

Judyth

 

<< start of forwarded material >>

Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 20:49:00 -0500
From: Paul Nielson <p.nielson@shaw.ca>
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Subject: [CPI-UA] Consultation paper/process on: Reforms to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)

This notice announces the release of the position paper and invites comments
from interested parties. The consultation paper is available electronically
at the following address:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf05972e.html 


Notice No. DGTP-007-02 Ø Consultation on Canada's position respecting
proposed reforms to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN)

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a
not-for-profit, private sector, California corporation that manages the
technical co-ordination of the Internet's naming and addressing systems
including the domain name system (DNS). The DNS consists of both country
code top level domains (ccTLDs) such as ".ca" for Canada, and generic top
level domains (gTLDs) which are international in scope, such as ".com".

Since its formation in 1998, ICANN has been working to fulfil its mandate of
managing the technical functions of the Internet, while dealing with ongoing
debates about its governance, structure and legitimacy. At the ICANN Board
of Directors retreat held over the weekend of February 23, 2002, President
Stuart Lynn proposed a series of structural reforms for ICANN. Following
this meeting, ICANN formed the Evolution and Reform Committee (ERC), which
developed recommendations on ICANN Reform, taking into account the views of
ICANN's constituents (including governments). The ERC's recommendations are
found in their ICANN: A Blueprint for Reform, which was the subject of the
recent Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and ICANN meetings in
Bucharest, Romania held from June 24-26, 2002. The government of Canada has
developed a preliminary position paper on ICANN reform in response to the
Blueprint document.

Invitation to Comment

Respondents are requested to provide their comments in electronic format
(WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF or ASCII TXT) to facilitate posting
on the Department's Web site. Documents submitted should be sent with a note
specifying the software, version number and operating system used. All
comments should make reference to "Comments * Gazette Notice DGTP-007-02"
and be sent to the following e-mail address: ICANNComments@ic.gc.ca.

Written submissions should be addressed to the Director General,
Telecommunications Policy Branch, Industry Canada, 300 Slater Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0C8. All representations should cite the Canada
Gazette, Part I, publication date, the title, and the Notice reference
number (DGTP-007-02). To ensure there is time to consider all comments,
submissions should be received no later than September 10, 2002.

August 2, 2002


Michael Helm
Director General
Telecommunications Policy Branch


<< end of forwarded material >>



##########################################################
Judyth Mermelstein     "cogito ergo lego ergo cogito..."
Montreal, QC           <espresso@e-scape.net>
##########################################################
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once 
they have exhausted all other alternatives." (Abba Eban)
##########################################################
See the UNESCO OBSERVATORY ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY!
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/observatory  



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