http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/15230.html
Deadline to End IANA Looms
by Niall McKay
6:18 p.m. 25.Sep.98.PDT
In less than a week, a final blueprint for a new
organization to govern technical underpinnings of
the Internet must land on the desk of White House
technical adviser Ira Magaziner. But even after
much hand-wringing, the fourth, and latest,
version of the plan is still not fully baked.
"Given the amount of traffic and public comment
that [the forth proposal] has solicited, I think that it
will have to go through at least one more
iteration," Magaziner said Thursday.
Jon Postel, director of the Internet Assigned
Names Authority is now drafting a fifth proposal
for the new nonprofit organization, to be called
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN).
The new corporation is slated to take over
technical responsibility for the Internet, replacing
the services of both the Internet Assigned Names
Authority and Network Solutions.
Before that happens, though, Magaziner must be
sure the document reflects the views of the myriad
interests and organizations that are pulling the
plan in various directions. The deadline is 30
September. Objections to the fourth proposal are
focused on ICANN's new set of bylaws, which
critics believe do not provide adequate protection
against abuse.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has joined the
fray and is concerned that current proposal could
threaten basic civil rights, because there is no
built-in provision for freedom of speech.
"We have three problems with the draft," said
John Gilmore, the group's co-founder. The
ICANN decisions must be open to the public,
Gilmore said. The new organization must also
open up access to its documentation, and publish
information about contracts that it awards.
"While I believe that Postel has done a very good
job, we cannot afford to overlook these issues,"
said Gilmore.
Furthermore, the fourth proposal was hammered
out behind closed doors between IANA and
Network Solutions executives, and was posted to
the IANA Web site on 17 September.
Critics allege that the organization's bylaws built
in protection for Network Solutions, the current
Internet domain name monopoly holder. For
example, Gilmore said one bylaw states that
ICANN must respect any contract between the US
government and Network Solutions.
Neither Network Solutions nor IANA officials
responded to requests for comment.
When Postel resolves the bylaws issue, there is
sure to be yet another punch-up over who will be
chosen to lead the new organization.
"How will the new board be selected? This is now
the question that is concerning many people,"
said Ellen Rony, co-author of the Domain Name
Handbook, who sits on the steering committee of
the International Forum on the White Paper.
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