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

[alice at apc.org]

Thank you  McTim. For those who follow ICANN/IGF etc processes, the
additional links are very helpful

Best
Alice

> Hi Alice,
>
> for more on this topic i would reccomend folk read Kieran's piece at
> http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/03/14/beckstrom-right-for-wrong-reasons
>
> and for more nuanced reading, Maria Farrell;
> http://crookedtimber.org/2012/03/13/icanns-departing-ceo-burning-down-the-house/
>
> As you know, both are ex-ICANN staff, so have some expertise.
>
> Regards,
>
> McTim
>
>
> On 3/14/12, alice at apc.org <alice at apc.org> wrote:
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
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>