Announcement of the Launch of the Implementation Advisory Group for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Implementation Advisory Group for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (IAG-CCT). Thirty-nine (39) individuals responded to the Call for Volunteers. IAG-CCT is an open group convened to serve for a limited duration and scope, focusing exclusively on evaluating the proposed metrics for data gathering to support a future review that is mandated by the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC).¹

We welcome the following volunteers as members of the newly convened IAG-CCT:

Ron Andruff	Michael R. Nelson
Brian Beckham	Aga Neme
Eric Brunner-Williams	David Payne
Phil Buckingham	Ephraim Percy Kenyanito
Olga Cavalli	Artur Piechocki
Mason Cole	Hartmut Richard Glaser
Nathalie Coupet	Santiago Rodriguez Ortiz
Steve DelBianco	Jeremy Rowley
Chaitanya Dhareshwar	Carlton Samuels
Ray Fassett	Atdhe Sharku
Michael A. Flynn	Judy Song-Marshall
Anjali Hansen	David C. Stuckman
Judith L. Harris	Christa Taylor
A.B. Ishiaku	Jeffrey Thomas
Yamoah Kwaku	Umit Turk
Cheryl Langdon-Orr	Rudi Vansnick
Evan Leibovitch	Christopher Wilkinson
Reg Levy	Darryl C. Wilson
Alfredo Lopez Hernandez	Jonathan Zuck
Lyndel McDonald

To track the work of this group, please visit the IAG-CCT Wiki.

IAG-CCT Schedule and Operations

The IAG-CCT is expected to commence its work in November 2013 and produce its recommendations by July 2014.

A kick-off conference call will be scheduled in early November.

The Group will hold a meeting at ICANN 48 in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, 20 November, 16:00 – 18:00 ART http://buenosaires48.icann.org/en/schedule/wed-iag-cct. Remote participation will be available and the meeting is open to all interested individuals. The IAG-CCT will be briefed on the status of work to date, including an introduction and overview of the project; overview of proposed metrics from the GNSO and the ALAC; and a staff update on the evaluation of proposed metrics.

A schedule of subsequent calls and meetings will be available on the IAG-CCT Wiki.

IAG-CCT Mandate

The mandate is to develop recommendations for the set of metrics to be collected by ICANN in preparation for a future review relating to New gTLDs1. Once the proposed metrics are delivered to the Board, the work of the IAG-CCT will be concluded. As directed by the Board, ICANN will develop the systems and collect the metrics approved through this process.

The IAG-CCT will be responsible for:

1. Evaluating the feasibility, utility and cost-effectiveness of adopting the recommendations of the GNSO Council [PDF, 203 KB] and the At-Large Advisory Committee [PDF, 491 KB] (ALAC) with respect to the metrics to be used in conducting the review;
2. Evaluating other inputs, including historical data regarding metrics used to evaluate earlier rounds of new gTLDs (2000, 2004);
3. Engaging in outreach with the GNSO, ALAC and other interested ICANN stakeholders on the proposed metrics;
4. Evaluating the staff analysis to be delivered to the IAG-CCT on the feasibility and utility of each of the proposed metrics, and whether the implementation costs are reasonable in light of the value of the information to be revealed;
5. Proposing to ICANN a set of metrics to be compiled by ICANN in advance of the AoC review of the New gTLDs, if and when such review team is to be convened.

Where the proposed metrics from the IAG-CCT differ from those recommended by the GNSO Council or the ALAC, the Group is expected to consult with the GNSO and ALAC to share its rationale, and determine whether the collective set of metrics recommended by the Group sufficiently address the goals of the GNSO and the ALAC.

Background

ICANN announced a Revised Call for Volunteers to Evaluate Metrics Related to Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice on 17 September 2013. The current metrics and data gathering advice to be provided by the IAG-CCT is separate from a future call for volunteers to serve on a Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (CCT) Review Team. The CCT Review will not occur until the AoC requirement has been met ('If and when new gTLDs … have been in operation for one year, ICANN will organize a review that will examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness..")1.

The AoC calls for periodic reviews of four key ICANN objectives:

1. Ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users;
2. Preserving security, stability and resiliency of the DNS;
3. Promoting competition, consumer trust and consumer choice;
4. WHOIS policy.

More information is available on the ICANN web site.

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¹ Affirmation of Commitments, 9.3: "ICANN will ensure that as it contemplates expanding the top-level domain space, the various issues that are involved (including competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, sovereignty concerns, and rights protection) will be adequately addressed prior to implementation. If and when new gTLDs (whether in ASCII or other language character sets) have been in operation for one year, ICANN will organize a review that will examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness of (a) the application and evaluation process, and (b) safeguards put in place to mitigate issues involved in the introduction or expansion. ICANN will organize a further review of its execution of the above commitments two years after the first review, and then no less frequently than every four years."