.Amazon peace talks between ACTO Countries and ICANN CEO aborts

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) efforts to broker a peace deal between the regional Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) and giant online retailer Amazon has aborted, according to ICANN CEO Göran Marby. The meeting had been planned for today longside the 21st meeting of the ACTO countries in Bolivia.

“Unfortunately, at this time, we regret to inform you that this facilitation process has been unsuccessful. The facilitation has not been able to reach its desired conclusion.” wrote Marby in a letter [pdf] to Manal Ismail, the chair of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Body (GAC).

This letter is in response to reacted to the ACTO countries calling off a meeting, scheduled in concurrence  with the 21st meeting of the ACTO countries in Bolivia with the hope that it would to help to iron out a final map that would assuage a “shared use” deal of the TLD.

It is believed that the blow up could have resulted from ICANN’s decision of the ICANN Board to unfreeze the delegation of the name by and give it to Amazon following intensive negotiations between parties. Amazon must make sure to publish safeguards for the zones, so-called “Public Interest Commitments,” the board decision states.

While “recognizing the public policy issues raised through GAC advice on these applications,” the parties according to information from ICANN’s management “identified a path forward,” allowing the board to take “this action today to allow the .AMAZON applications to move forward in a manner that would align with GAC advice and inputs on this topic.”

Amazon in several rounds has offered ACTO Amazon Kindles “preloaded with mutually agreed upon content, and similar Amazon.com services and products in an amount not to exceed 5 million dollars.” While these offers have been forthcoming, the concerns on the side of the Amazon countries nevertheless have not been thawed and remain pressing according to the communique of ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). Governments there took note of Colombia’s letters to ICANN expressing its objection to a “delegation without consent by the ACTO member.” A “mutually acceptable solution” for the Amazon countries still has to be worked out, according to the GAC.

The ICANN Board has been under pressure to make a decision after Amazon was declared the prevailing party in a 2017 an independent review procedure (IRP) over ICANN’s early blocking decision.