Karl Auerbach on the Joint Statement from Chairmen of ISOC and ICANN
The chairmen of ICANN and ISOC put out a joint statement.What was not mentioned is that ISOC gets its funding largely via domain name registration fees in the .org top level domain. In other words, ISOC’s funding depends on ICANN policies. And ICANN gets a lot of rah-rah-sis-boom-bah cheerleading from ISOC.
I don’t mean to imply that there is any overt impropriety. However, a close dependency relationship can lead the parties to gloss over problems. And there are old phrases such as one should not look a gift horse in the mouth and that one should not bite the hand that feeds.
On 17 December 2014 representatives from ISOC and ICANN, along with the chairs of the IETF and IAB, met to discuss two separate timely topics, the IANA Stewardship Transition and the NETMundial Initiative.
The attendees were:
- Jari Arkko, IETF Chair
- Kathy Brown, ISOC President and CEO
- Fadi Chehadé, ICANN President CEO
- Steve Crocker, ICANN Board Chair
- Dave Farber, ISOC Board Member
- Bob Hinden, ISOC Board Chair
- Russ Housley, IAB Chair
- Jason Livingood, ISOC Board Member
- Ram Mohan, ICANN Board Member
- Ray Plzak, ICANN Board Member
Everyone agreed that we are all focused to work toward a better Internet. We are all completely committed to make the Internet successful, and to keep it free and open for everyone.
IANA Stewardship Transition
We agreed to further strengthen our joint efforts in the IANA Stewardship Transition. ISOC and ICANN have important and independent roles that can be used to ensure a successful IANA stewardship transition. We agree that it is very important for the global Internet that the transition happen.
NETMundial Initiative
We had a very constructive, frank, and candid discussion on Internet Governance that included the NETMundial Initiative (NMI). On NMI we did not resolve all of the outstanding issues. The ISOC attendees, the IAB and IETF chairs would rather see the structure defined after setting the terms of reference and scope of the work. More work needs to be done by NMI and with the various communities involved.
ICANN and ISOC agreed on several important points to suggest to the NETmundial Initiative:
- To go back to the community to ask them on what they need in a platform for Internet Governance.
- Build a step-wise approach to creating the initiative, that is, defining its Terms of Reference and Tasks it will undertake before the Initiative takes its final form and structure.
- Consult with the global community on these proposals.
These ideas will be brought to the NMI Transitional Committee for their consideration.
The results of this meeting will be brought to the ICANN and ISOC Boards for their consideration. We all felt that the meeting was very constructive and useful.
Bob Hinden
Chair, Internet Society Board of Trustees
Steve Crocker
Chair, ICANN Board of Directors
