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An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions

7 August 2015
By Samantha Dickinson

In addition to the U.N. six languages, this content is also available in

A major milestone reached as two key proposals open for public comment

The transition of IANA's stewardship is now another step nearer as two key proposals are opened for public comment:

  • The Consolidated IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal by the ICG
  • The 2nd Draft Report on Work Stream 1 Recommendations by the CCWG-Accountability

The final version of both these proposals will eventually be submitted to the ICANN Board of Directors, who will transfer them to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). More information on these proposals, and how you can comment on their contents, is below.

Consolidated IANA stewardship transition proposal now open for public comment

On 31 July, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) announced the start of the public comment period for the Proposal to Transition the Stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Functions from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the Global Multistakeholder Community. The proposal consists of the three proposals that have already reached consensus among the Domain Names, Numbering Resources and Protocol Parameters communities, as well as a report by the ICG, which includes an assessment of whether the three proposals:

  • Were developed using open and inclusive community processes, and whether they achieved consensus;
  • Are complete and clear;
  • Are compatible and interoperable, provide appropriate and properly supported accountability mechanisms, and are workable; and
  • Together meet the NTIA's criteria.

The ICG notes that as the proposals have already undergone extensive public comment and discussion amongst the three operational communities, this public comment period is focused on how the three proposals work together as a whole and how it fares against the criteria established by NTIA for the transition.

The proposal will be available for public comment for 40 days. Following community input during the comment period, the ICG will decide whether to recommend that NTIA approve the transition proposal.

The proposal will be available shortly in all six official United Nations (UN) languages and Portuguese, but is currently only available in English. The news release about the proposal, however, is available now in these seven languages, with all translations linked from the English version.

Key links

How to submit a public comment

You can comment on the proposal, taking into account the ICG's 12 questions, by 8 September 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone). Comments can be submitted in one of two ways:

After you have submitted the form, you will receive an automatically generated email asking you to click a link to confirm your submission. Your comments will then be posted to the archive of public comments.

You may wish to use this template for your response. After submitting your comments you will receive two emails: the first confirms receipt of your email; the second confirms your comments have been posted to the comments archive.

To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of the two following webinars live:

  • 6 August, 19:00 – 20:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
  • 7 August, 11:00 – 12:30 UTC (time zone converter here)

The webinars will also be live interpreted in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and Portuguese and the recording posted shortly afterward. The transcript will also be translated and posted after the webinars.

CCWG-Accountability

On 3 August, the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) released its 2nd Draft Proposal on Work Stream 1 Recommendations. Since the first version of the proposal was released on 4 May, the CCWG-Accountability has taken a very open and agile approach to finding creative solutions to problems identified in previous iterations of their proposals. The second version also addresses a number of outstanding issues not fully fleshed out in the first draft. The most significant changes between the two drafts are:

  • Mechanism to empower the ICANN community

The mechanism has undergone significant changes: in the May draft, there were two alternatives presented – member model and delegate model; following feedback received during the public comment period, the CCWG-Accountability brainstormed alternatives at ICANN53 in June, resulting in the development of an Empowered SO/AC model. Resulting from subsequent discussions at a face-to-face meeting in Paris in July, this second draft proposal presents the Community Mechanism as Sole Member Model.

  • Four additional stress tests

The new stress tests have been added following suggestions contained in the Larry Strickling's 16 June blog post on the NTIA website.

  • Refinements to key elements contained in the first draft

These refinements include:

  • ICANN Mission & Core Values
  • Removal of individual ICANN Board Directors and recall of the entire Board
  • Independent Review Process
  • Community power regarding ICANN's budget
  • Work plan for Work Stream 2 (including adding a commitment to human rights in the ICANN Bylaws)
  • Implementation plan for Work Stream 1

The proposal also includes "minority views", which are statements by CCWG-Accountability members and participants who object to recommendations contained in the report. Additional minority views received after 1 August will be available here.

The proposal will be available for public comment for 40 days.

After the public comment period closes, the CCWG-Accountability aims to finalize its Work Stream 1 proposal for submission to its Chartering Organizations (GNSO, ALAC, ccNSO, GAC, ASO and SSAC) and then to the ICANN Board of Directors during or shortly after ICANN54 in Dublin. The proposal will then be submitted to the NTIA, along with the IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal. After Work Stream 1 is completed, the CCWG-Accountability will focus on Work Stream 2, which consists of accountability enhancements that do not need to be in place for the IANA stewardship transition to occur.

Key links

How to submit a public comment

You can comment on the proposal by 12 September 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone).

  • Consider the CCWG-Accountability's three questions when developing your submissions:
  • Do you agree that the CCWG-Accountability proposal enhances ICANN's accountability?
  • Are there elements of this proposal that would prevent you from approving it transmission to Chartering Organizations?
  • Does this proposal meet the requirements set forward by the CWG-Stewardship?

To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of the two following webinars live:

  • 4 August, 19:00 – 21:00 UTC (time zone converter here)
  • 7 August, 7:00 – 9:00 UTC (time zone converter here)

The webinars will also be live interpreted in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and Portuguese and the recording posted shortly afterward. The transcript will also be translated and posted after the webinars.

IANA stewardship in the news

4 Aug 2015

Netzverwaltung ICANN: Finaler Entwurf für künftige Aufsicht der DNS-Rootzone, Heise Online [DE]

3 Aug 2015

ICANN posts proposal to end US oversight of Internet, Agence France-Presses (AFP)
Especialistas em Internet enviam esboço para EUA cederem supervisão de domínios, Reuters Brasil [PT]
Keeping Internet open and free, The Malaysian Insider [EN]

30 Jul 2015

How Congress Can Halt Government Control of the Internet, The Daily Signal [EN]

20 Jul 2015

IANA TRANSITION e ICANN ACCOUNTABILITY: De onde viemos e para onde vamos?, Observatório da Internet no Brasil [PT]

Upcoming key dates

4 Aug 2015

Webinar: CCWG-Accountability 2nd draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) proposal

6 Aug 2015

Webinar: ICG IANA Stewardship Transition proposal

7 Aug 2015

Webinar: ICG IANA Stewardship Transition proposal

 

Webinar: CCWG-Accountability 2nd draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) proposal

8 Sep 2015

Public Comment Period on ICG's IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal closes

12 Sep 2015

Public Comment Period for CCWG-Accountability's 2nd draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) closes

18-19 Sep 2015

ICG Face-to-Face Meeting, Los Angeles

30 Sep-15 Oct 2015

CCWG-Accountability's 2nd and final proposal (Work Stream 1) presented to ALAC, ASO, ccNSO, GAC and GNSO for their approval.

18-22 Oct 2015

ICANN 54 inc. ICG Face-to-Face meeting and presentation of proposals for IANA stewardship and ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) to the ICANN Board for subsequent transmission to the NTIA.

Week 1, Nov 2015

ICANN Board transmits IANA stewardship transition and ICANN accountability (Work Stream 1) proposals to NTIA.

You can play a role in IANA's future…

Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA's stewardship and ICANN accountability. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.

Compiled on behalf of ICANN by Samantha Dickinson | 4 August 2015

Authors

Samantha Dickinson