PAB Deadline to End IANA Looms

From: Sascha Ignjatovic (sascha@isoc.vienna.org)
Date: Sat Sep 26 1998 - 08:24:22 PDT


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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