[kictanet] ICANN says it will tackle conflict-of-interest concerns

[alice at apc.org]

ICANN says it will tackle conflict-of-interest concerns
The agency has been criticized for perceived conflicts of interest within
its board and staff

By Rebecca Wanjiku | Computerworld Kenya | 13 March 12
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/internet/3343962/icann-says-it-will-tackle-conflict-of-interest-concerns/

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has
appointed an outside team to review its code of conduct following
complaints of conflict of interest within the board and staff.


Rod Beckstrom, ICANN president and CEO, announced Monday that Jermyn
Brooks, Aron Cramer and Mervyn King will review and provide advice about
the ethics and conflict-of-interest policies at ICANN. "I believe it is
time to further tighten up the rules that have allowed perceived conflicts
to exist within our board," Beckstrom said in his opening address at
ICANN's latest public meeting, taking place in San José, Costa Rica.

"This is necessary not just to be responsive to the growing chorus of
criticism about ICANN's ethics environment, but to ensure that absolute
dedication to the public good supersedes all other priorities," he said.
Beckstrom's remarks followed criticism of ICANN's conflict-of-interest
policy by the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) Over the weekend, the NTIA cancelled a request for
proposals (RFP) to operate the functions of the Internet Assigned Names
Authority (IANA), saying it had not received satisfactory bids. It said it
was adding new requirements for the RFP, including a "structural
separation of policymaking from implementation," a "robust companywide
conflict of interest policy," and "consultation and reporting requirements
to increase transparency and accountability to the international
community." IANA is currently a department of ICANN. Its functions include
managing the DNS Root Zone and assigning generic top-level domains
(gTLDs). The NTIA plans to reissue its RFP at a future date. In the
meantime, ICANN will continue to manage its operations until September.
The Internet community has been raising concerns about conflicts of
interest at ICANN ever since the previous board chairman, Peter Dengate
Thrush, left ICANN to chair Top Level Domain Holdings, a company expected
to benefit from the planned introduction of new gTLDs. "Every director is
required to file a statement of conflict of interest, which will be
reviewed to ensure all potential conflicts are visible," ICANN board
chairman Steve Crocker said Monday. The application process for the new
gTLDs has heightened the call for transparency and accountability within
ICANN, mainly because the people who serve the community are also business
people who expect to do business with ICANN. "ICANN must place commercial
and financial interests in their appropriate context," Beckstrom said.
"How can it do this if all top leadership is from the very domain name
industry it is supposed to coordinate independently?" Beckstrom said the
new gTLD program has received 254 registrations online, with every
registrant entitled to request 50 different gTLDs. The application
deadline is April 12 and ICANN will reveal the applicants May 1. ICANN is
expected to have a new CEO by July, when Beckstrom steps down. He cited
potential conflicts of interest as one of the potential challenges for any
new ICANN leader. "A more subtle but related risk is the tangle of
conflicting agendas within the board that would make it more difficult for
any CEO to meet the requirements of this deeply rewarding and sometimes
frustrating job," he said. In the coming week, ICANN is expected to
continue discussions on the new gTLD application process as it relates to
brand protection and address issues of cybersecurity, IPv6 deployment and
security and resilience of the Domain Name System.