[A2k] New paper on US Govt role in ICANN

[Michelle Childs]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/21/burr_cade_usg_paper/

US government urged again to end net role
High-profile insiders add to pressure.
By Kieren McCarthy
Published Friday 21st July 2006 09:06

. The United States government is under pressure again, this time from two
high-profile insiders, to end its overseeing role on the internet and
transistion its role to an international body.

A paper [pdf] co-written by the ex-government lawyer that originally drew
up the contract between the US government and internet overseeing
organisation ICANN in 1998, J. Beckwith Burr, and ICANN insider and member
of the ICANN's President's Strategy Committee, Marilyn Cade, will be
officially released later today at a public meeting called to discuss the
organisation's future.

Entitled "Steps the US government (USG) can take to promote responsible,
global, private sector management of the DNS", the paper is under no doubt
that the USG has to internationalise its role as ultimate authority over
the internet's domain name system and root zone file and explains that it
hopes to provide a "concrete pathway" for doing just that.

It outlines four steps that it "urges" the USG to follow in arriving at
that end-point.

-Make a statement stating that it will not use its authority to undermine
any ICANN decisions, and that it will make VeriSign make changes to the A
root in 14 days.

-Set up an international working group to take over its role which will
comprise top-level government officials from across the world (not the
existing GAC members, it suggests) plus ICANN officials. This group will
be able to put a temporary hold on the implementation of any ICANN
recommendations on the limited grounds that the change would led to "an
unreasonable risk to the technical stability or security of the Internet".

-Publicly restate and provide assistance in getting back to the initial
ICANN principles where private ownership is respected and ICANN's
technical role is limited.

-Force some accountability onto ICANN by making it review its procedures
and appeals mechanisms


The paper will be outlined at an all-day meeting today called by ICANN to
discuss its future in time for a public meeting of the US government on 26
July, both preceding the end of ICANN's current contract with the USG on
30 September. That the paper is written by the official that originally
wrote ICANN and the USG's contract and has been a close follower of ICANN
ever since will lend extra weight to the paper's proposals. And co-author
Marilyn Cade's appearance means that both US industry and ICANN's
leadership are broadly behind the measures.

Experts that have so far reviewed the paper have been supportive and see
it as a pragmatic exit for the USG, whose role has come under increased
pressure in recent months, most recently just a week ago when a striking
87 percent of respondents to its own consultation urged the move to an
international body as a matter of urgency.

The main area of dispute would appear to be in the formation of the
international working group as outlined in the paper. EU civil servant and
Net expert Patrick Vande Walle has already pointed out that the paper's
suggestions over which countries should be included in the group are
politically naive. But then the paper's strength comes from the fact that
it is written by the US perspective and so is far more likely to meet with
US government approval. The exact details can be thrashed out later.

ICANN's meeting schedule has now been posted, and there will be a live
audio feed [Real Player] during the day (starting 7.20am US Pacific Time)
for anyone interested in the topic of internet governance.=AE



--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
Consumer Project on Technology in London
24, Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX,UK.
Tel:+44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252.
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http://www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC
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