[FYI] (Fwd) FC: House Commerce committee wants Bush admin to "keep tabs" on ICANN

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Thu, 14 Mar 2002 13:22:28 -0500
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	FC: House Commerce committee wants Bush admin to "keep tabs" on
 	ICANN
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com

See also this article I wrote yesterday:

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51041,00.html
    2:00 a.m. March 14, 2002 PST
    WASHINGTON -- Official Washington's post-Sept. 11 preoccupation
    with heightened security measures has finally extended to the
    underlying structure of the Internet. The U.S. Congress is
    planning oversight hearings to investigate the Internet
    Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the troubled
    nonprofit organization tasked by the Clinton administration with
    overseeing domain names and Internet addresses.

And:

"ICANN has voted to eliminate public elections --Karl Auerbach"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03267.html

-Declan

***********

Energy and Commerce Committee to Sec. Evans:

Keep Tabs on ICANN's Reform Efforts

WASHINGTON (March 14) - Following recent reports of proposed
structural changes to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy
Tauzin (R-LA), along with Ranking Member John Dingell (D-MI),
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet Chairman Fred
Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA) and Committee Member
John Shimkus (R-IL), have urged the Department of Commerce to pay
close attention to ICANN's reform efforts.

(Attached below is a copy of the letter sent to Commerce Secretary
Donald Evans on ICANN's reforms.)

March 13, 2002


The Honorable Donald L. Evans
Secretary
Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230

Dear Secretary Evans:


We are writing with respect to the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN), with which the Department of Commerce ("the
Department") has a contract for performing certain limited technical
functions with respect to the Internet.  We are deeply concerned about
proposals for structural changes to that organization.

The systems that the Department permits ICANN to manage are global in
scope and implication.  The original policy goal the United States
sought to create with ICANN was to produce a non-governmental entity
that could coordinate core Internet functions and manage the technical
aspects of its naming and address allocation systems.  According to
the Memorandum of Understanding between ICANN and the Department for
implementing a transition for ICANN's technical management of Internet
names and addresses, ICANN was to be founded upon the principles of
"stability, competition, bottom-up coordination, and representation."

  Since its inception, however, ICANN has increasingly departed from
  that 
limited role.  Its unchecked growth into general Internet policymaking
and regulation of commercial rights and interests is very disturbing. 
As you know, this Committee has repeatedly joined the chorus of
critics from every part of the Internet community in objecting to
ICANN's lack of transparency, due process, and accountability.  It has
been slow to create new competition in the generic top-level domain
(gTLD) marketplace and has developed needlessly detailed, highly
regulatory contracts for the number of new top-level domains announced
last year.

  Recently, ICANN's president admitted that "ICANN in its current form
  has 
not become the effective steward of the global Internet's naming and
address allocation systems" and that its current structure is
"impractical."  We agree.  The remedies that ICANN management is
proposing to address these fundamental problems, however, will only
make matters worse.  ICANN management is proposing to eliminate direct
representation of Internet users on ICANN's board, place five
representatives of national governments on the board in their stead,
and increase its own budget with funding to be sought from governments
and network operators.

  It is our belief that such proposals will make ICANN even less
democratic, open, and accountable than it is today.  The Department
should not allow ICANN management to retreat on any future prospects
for open, democratic, private sector-led management of certain limited
technical Internet functions.  We fully support a "reform" of ICANN;
however, we believe ICANN reform should address and remedy, at
minimum, the following issues:

  ·         Create a Representative Board - The Department should
  ensure 
that ICANN's Board of Directors is fully representative of all 
stakeholders, including corporate stakeholders and members of the
general Internet community;


·         Increased Accountability - The ICANN Board has been
criticized by both the Internet community and from within the board
itself for the lack of transparency in its decision-making processes;


·         Adhere to ICANN's Original Mandate - ICANN should limit its
activities to its initial scope of jurisdiction, i.e., coordinating
core Internet functions and the technical aspects of naming and
address allocation issues; and


·         Due Process Protections - There should be clear, written
procedures for approving new gTLDs, as well as any future technical
issues, including an impartial appeals process for those who have
process or substantive complaints.


Finally, we want to strongly reiterate our support for continued
Department of Commerce control over the so-called "A-root" server.  We
believe that any assumption of control over that asset by any outside
entity would be contrary to the economic and national security
interests of the United States.  We hope you concur with our desire to
see the Internet policy of the United States further promote the
democratization of access to the processes and tools of Internet
commerce and communications.  Decisions made in the next few weeks
must not put these important policy objectives at risk.


We look forward to hearing your views on these matters and thank you
in advance for your time and attention in reviewing this important
issue.



Sincerely,



W. J. "Billy" Tauzin
Chairman



John D. Dingell

Ranking Member



Fred 
Upton 


Chairman, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the 
Internet

Edward J. Markey

Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet



John Shimkus

Member, Committee on Energy and Commerce


# # #




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