Digital Rights + Internet Governance + Innovation Policy

Dissenting Opinion of Member Robin Gross to ICANN CCWG Accountability Report on Issue of Enhancing Governmental Control Over Internet via ICANN Accountability Reform Process

Dissent of Member Robin Gross to CCWG-Accountability Report as .pdf (18 February 2016) Dissenting Opinion of Individual Member Robin Gross on the Issue of GAC Over-Empowerment, Marginalization of Supporting Organizations While the majority of recommendations included in the CCWG-Accountability Report for Work Stream 1 mark significant and laudable improvements for ICANN’s accountability processes, the proposal [...]

IP JUSTICE JOURNAL: ICANN Accountability Deficits Revealed in .AFRICA Panel Ruling

ICANN Accountability Deficits Revealed in .AFRICA Panel Ruling By Robin D. Gross - 16 July 2015 Full Article as .PDF “Fortress ICANN” No Longer Able to Shield Itself from Accountability In an important test of ICANN’s primary accountability mechanism, its Independent Review Process (IRP), the organization has been handed a stinging blow over its mishandling [...]

Civil Society Cautions Against ICANN Proposal to Give Governments a Veto Over New Domains Using “Geographic Names”

A group of twenty-four civil society organizations and individuals today submitted a joint statement regarding a proposal from an ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) sub-group on the use of geographic names in top-level domains. The joint civil society statement cautioned against the adoption of the GAC proposal that would give governments veto power on domains that use geographic names. The submission stated that the proposal would threaten to chill freedom of expression and other lawful rights to use words in domain names, stifle innovation, and undermine the multi-stakeholder model for Internet governance. The group also stated that the proposal is based on flawed presumptions of law and 'the public interest' and is entirely unworkable from a practical standpoint.

Do Not Empower Non-Democratic Governments’ Control Over the Internet with this Draconian “GAC Veto” on ICANN Board Decisions

This draconian proposal to change ICANN's bylaws would fundamentally transform ICANN away from being a "bottom-up" and "private-sector-led" organization and into a governmental regulatory agency by changing the GAC's role from "advisory" into "primary decision maker" by essentially creating a "governmental veto" on all key organizational decisions. This would mark a truly significant change in the overall power structure at ICANN that would dramatically empower national governments (some democratic, some authoritarian) over the management of critical Internet resources at the expense of those who participate in the bottom-up policy development process...

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