[kictanet] Briefing note of the Paris meeting

[alice]

BRIEFING NOTE - Overall summary of the Paris meeting

*http://par.icann.org/briefing-note
What was it?*

ICANN's 32nd international public meeting was one of three held annually 
to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the 
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and Agifem, a 
non-profit organization made up of several French Internet companies and 
organizations.

The meeting was opened by the Eric Besson, France's Minister of State 
for forward planning, assessment of public policies, and development of 
the digital economy.

1,672 people participated from 166 different countries, making this 
ICANN's biggest ever meeting. The participants engaged in a wide range 
of discussions about the Internet's domain name system and related issues.

Further information about the meeting, including presentations and 
transcripts, is available at http://par.icann.org/.

ICANN's next international public meeting will take place in Cairo, 
Egypt, beginning on 3rd November, 2008.


*What happened and what are the next steps? *

Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were 
held over six days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:
• business interests
• civil society
• governments and government agencies
• Internet service providers
• registrants
• registrars
• registries
• the technical community

Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. 
They are summarized below.

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*New gTLDs*

ICANN's Board of Directors took a significant step forward on the 
introduction of new generic top-level domains (new gTLDS - extensions to 
the domain name system in addition to, for example, .COM or .INFO). The 
Board approved the policy recommendations on new gTLDs developed by the 
GNSO, ICANN's policy development arm for the generic name space. The 
Board directed ICANN staff to further develop and complete a detailed 
implementation plan.

New generic top-level domains were a featured topic of conversation 
during the meeting. The week began with a dedicated two-and-a-half-hour 
interactive session where experts from different industries and sectors 
around the world shared a diversity of views about the potential changes 
to the Internet as the New gTLD Program is launched. The workshop was 
presented with MARQUES, the Association of European trademark owners, 
which represents trademark owners' interests before EU and other 
international bodies.

ICANN staff updated the community on how new gTLDs may be implemented, 
including a timeline and recent steps taken to address potential 
disputes. Similar updates were presented to the various stakeholders 
including the GNSO Council.

New gTLDs were also discussed at the Public Forum, later in the week. 
During the meeting, a number of suggestions for new gTLDs also emerged. 
The discussions on new gTLDs were the subject of worldwide and 
widespread press coverage including by BBC, CNN, NBC, Les Echos, 
Business Week, Le Monde, Liberation, The Times of London, the Financial 
Times, and other media outlets all over the world.

More information is available on ICANN's new gTLDs page 
(http://www.icann.org/topics/new-gtld-program.htm). This web page 
includes a factsheet on the topic written in plain language and 
accessible to a general audience.


*Next steps:*
The Board approved the policy recommendations on new gTLDs, drawn up by 
the GNSO, and directed ICANN staff to further develop and complete a 
detailed implementation plan.

Before the new gTLD introduction process is launched, the Board will be 
given a final version of the implementation proposals of the proposed 
process after a community review.

*More information:*
More information can be found online at: 
http://www.icann.org/topics/new-gtld-program.htm

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*IDNs and IDN Fast Track*

Much of the discussion about Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) 
during the Paris meeting centered on the work of the IDNC Working Group 
(IDNC WG). The IDNC WG was chartered by the Board at its November 2007 
meeting. Its participants were appointed by the following supporting 
organizations and advisory committees of ICANN: the Country Code Names 
Supporting Organization (ccNSO), GNSO, Government Advisory Committee 
(GAC), At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and Security and Stability 
Advisory Committee (SSAC).

The group has been working on the issue of an accelerated introduction 
of IDNs (the "fast track") where specific, non-controversial 
country-code top-level domains in non-Latin scripts could be approved 
and added to the Internet's root without having to wait for the full 
approval process to be finalized.

The IDNC WG released its draft final report on the feasibility of this 
approach for public comment two weeks prior to the Paris meeting. The 
report provided a number of high-level recommendations and received 
broad approval from the ccNSO and the GAC.

On the broader topic of IDNs, the Director of the IDN Program, Tina Dam, 
gave updates to the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, 
describing progress on technical and other IDN implementation issues. 
IDNs were discussed at the Public Forum, and a progress update was also 
given on the final day of the meeting.

Of particular interest was how finalization of the IDNA protocol 
revision would impact top-level IDN domains, in particular when and how 
they will be introduced.


*Next steps:*
The Board asked the IDNC WG final report to be posted for public comment 
and asked staff to produce a detailed report on implementation issues, 
following consultation with the community, in time for the next meeting 
in Cairo in November 2008.

*More information:*
More information can be found online at: 
http://ccnso.icann.org/workinggroups/idnc-charter.htm and at 
http://icann.org/topics/idn

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*Improving Institutional Confidence*

The Paris meeting saw the release of three documents from the 
President's Strategy Committee (PSC) outlining a new "Improving 
Institutional Confidence" public consultation.

This consultation's aim is for the community to discuss possible changes 
to ICANN in the lead up to the completion of the JPA in September 2009. 
This work has been led by the PSC whose role is to provide advice to the 
Board.

The three documents – Improving Institutional Confidence in ICANN, 
Transition Action Plan and Frequently Asked Questions – were used as the 
basis for a two-hour discussion session. During a public meeting on the 
issue, the PSC explained how the consultation would work and how people 
could find out more information at each stage. The issue was also given 
a dedicated timeslot in the Public Forum.

The documents are currently out for public comment (closing on 31 July).


*Next Steps: *
The consultation process outlined in the Transition Action Plan will be 
followed. The entire community is encouraged to read the documents and 
send their comments in before 31 July.

The documents will then be revised and put out for additional comment in 
September 2008 in preparation for further discussions at the Cairo 
meeting in November. A final report by the PSC will be provided to the 
Board in December.

*More information:*
More information is available online at: http://icann.org/jpa/iic

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*Independent Reviews*

The independent review process requires each of ICANN's Supporting 
Organizations and Advisory Committees to undergo review every few years 
to make sure that the organization as a whole continues to serves the 
needs of the global Internet community.

There are several independent reviews currently underway or soon to be 
launched. The Board of Directors is also undergoing an independent 
review in 2008. The Paris meeting saw a number of updates on the current 
reviews.

*GNSO*
The GNSO's review has been completed and it is now in the implementation 
stage. The Board approved all but one of the recommendations developed 
by a special Board working group to improve the effectiveness of the 
GNSO's policy activities, structure, operations and communications. 
Recommendations to be implemented include:
• use of a working group model for future policy development
• a revised policy development process
• enhancements to the different constituencies that make up the GNSO
• improved communications.

The Board deferred its final decision on one recommendation - 
restructuring the GNSO Council – and decided to give the GNSO one last 
chance to submit a consensus recommendation on how to structure the 
Council before it makes its final decision in the next few weeks. The 
Board requested that the GNSO convene a small working group to submit a 
consensus recommendation on Council restructuring no later than 25 July. 
The group is to include one member from each constituency, one of the 
current Nominating Committee appointees, and one member from each 
liaison-appointing advisory committee (if that advisory committee so 
desires).

In a related development, the GNSO Council postponed a vote on a 
top-level GNSO Improvements Implementation Plan and called for a 21-day 
public comment forum on the document. That open public comment forum 
closes on 18 July 2008.

*ALAC*
Two public sessions and two informal sessions were held to discuss a 
report from the ALAC's independent reviewers. The Board's ALAC review 
working group held its first sessions. The draft report is currently out 
for public comment.

*Board of Directors*
The Boston Consulting Group was selected as the consultant to perform 
the independent review of the Board of Directors.

*Nominating Committee*
A working group created by the Board Governance Committee is working on 
recommendations following the independent evaluators' report on the 
Nominating Committee.

*Others*
The Board established three working groups to review future independent 
review reports. They will cover: the Board, the DNS Root Server System 
Advisory Committee (RSSAC), and the Security and Stability Advisory 
Committee (SSAC).


*Next steps:*
The reviews will continue to progress through each step in the review 
process. Updates will be provided at the Cairo meeting in November.

*More information:*
More information including links to each of the reviews and public 
comments pages can be found online at: http://www.icann.org/reviews/

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*Registrar Accreditation Agreement*

More progress was made on improvements to protections for registrants 
provided through the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA – the 
contract ICANN holds with companies that register domain names on behalf 
of registrants).

15 revised changes and amendments were published in a report currently 
out for public comment (the comment period closes 4 August 2008). The 
amendments were outlined in meetings with individual Supporting 
Organizations and Advisory Committees, as well as a dedicated 
one-and-a-half-hour public workshop. RAA amendments also had a specific 
timeslot for discussion during the Public Forum, and were further 
outlined at the final day's report session.

There are four categories of amendment to the RAA:

• Enforcement tools, including graduated sanctions, liability and audit 
provisions
• Protections for registrants, including possible improvements to data 
escrow and the ability to make resellers comply with RAA obligations
• A more stable registrar marketplace, including training for registrar 
operators
• Modernizing the agreement, bringing it up to date with changes in the 
use and reuse of domain names


*Next steps:*
The amendments will be revised following input during the public comment 
period and then shared with the Board, who will determine the next steps.

*More information:*
More information can be found online at: http://www.icann.org/topics/raa/

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*Meetings Review*

A paper covering possible changes to ICANN meetings themselves was put 
to the community in a number of different sessions, including several 
Supporting Organization and Advisory Committee meetings, the opening day 
public forum, mid-week Public Forum, and the closing-day reports session.
There were two main recommendations in the paper:

• that ICANN move from three to two meetings a year; and
• that one of those meetings be held in a "hub" city.

There was a broad range of views and discussion on both points, as well 
as discussion of the change to the Paris schedule which saw the meeting 
end a day earlier on Thursday, rather than on Friday.


*Next steps:*
The meetings paper is out for public comment until 10 July and will be 
revised following feedback from the community.

*More information:*
More information can be found online at:
http://www.icann.org/public_comment/#meeting-consultation-2008

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*IPv6*

A number of information sessions on the new Internet Protocol were held 
in order to the make community more aware of support issues and to 
outline ways forward.

The ALAC, ccNSO, Registry and Registrar constituencies were also 
addressed by experts on this topic during their own meetings. Business 
leaders were given an overview as part of the Business Access Agenda. 
IPv6 was also discussed during the Public Forum.

The GAC heard from several individuals and organizations, including the 
OECD and the Names Resource Organization, about current trends and the 
challenges to IPv6 deployment worldwide.
More information:

A factsheet written in plain and clear language has been produced: "IPv6 
– The Internet's vital expansion - October 2007". It explains the 
protocol upgrade to a non-technical audience and is available here: 
http://www.icann.org/announcements/factsheet-ipv6-26oct07.pdf 
<http://www.icann.org/announcements/factsheet-ipv6-26oct07.pdf>

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*Business Access Agenda*

For the first time, a specific agenda and series of targeted meetings 
and discussions were held for business leaders in an effort to engage 
business more effectively within ICANN's processes.
The agenda included briefings on the most significant topics facing 
ICANN at the moment, including new gTLDs, IDNs and IPv6, and a meeting 
with the Board of Directors. It was organized in cooperation with the 
E-Business, IT and Telecoms Commission of the International Chamber of 
Commerce.

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*Other issues*

• The Board approved a recommendation by the GNSO to tackle "domain 
tasting".
• The FY09 ICANN operating plan and budget of $57.1m were adopted by the 
Board.
• Approval was given to a plan by PIR (the Public Interest Registry) to 
add the security protocol DNSSEC to the .org registry.
• An "At Large Summit" was approved to enable representatives of 
Internet user groups (At-Large Structures) to meet together within the 
next year, most likely at the Mexico City meeting in March 2009.
• The SSAC published a number of new reports and survey results relating 
to security and stability of the Internet. 
(http://www.icann.org/committees/security/)
• A number of policy development processes were started or advanced at 
the GNSO including Fast Flux and inter-registrar transfers.
• The GAC reiterated its strong support for a number of studies into the 
use and abuse of Whois data, and asked for clarification from the Board 
on whether studies would depend on the outcome of the GNSO Council's 
decision. The GNSO Council created a working group to review 
recommendations for Whois studies.