[ALAC] Fwd: FW: Policy Advisory Board model - Public Consultation

Wed Jan 29 15:43:30 UTC 2014

Dear ALAC colleagues,

please be so kind to find below and attached, a letter which was sent by
Ron Andruff to Cherine Chalaby, Chair of the ICANN New gTLD Program
Committee (NGPC) requesting a Public Consultation to take place about
the Policy Advisory Board model proposal which the ALAC has supported in
the past.

Due to very short time-lines for a reply and since the letter asks for a
Public Consultation in which the ALAC will be able to expand on the
shortcomings of the Public Interest Commitments (PICs) which we have
already pointed out but were ignored, the ALAC Leadership Team (ALT) has
given me the green light to sign the letter on their behalf. You'll also
find a couple of people from our community co-signing in their
individual capacity too. Indeed, many of the PICs filed are so weak,
including clauses reserving the right for the gTLD Registry to ignore
the commitments altogether, that this process is being grossly
mishandled and the ALAC need to voice its concerns.
*
*Kind regards,

Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
ALAC Chair
**

*From:* Ron Andruff [mailto:randruff at rnapartners.com]
*Sent:* Monday, January 27, 2014 18:36
*To:* 'cherine.chalaby at icann.org'
*Cc:* Heather.Dryden at ic.gc.ca; 'peter.nettlefold at dbcdd.gov.au'; 'Alan
Greenberg'; 'Evan Leibovitch'; Marilyn Cade (marilynscade at hotmail.com)
*Subject:* RE: Policy Advisory Board model - Public Consultation
*Importance:* High

Dear Cherine,

Following on from discussions held in Beijing and Buenos Aires with a
broad cross-section of the ICANN community, we understand that
SGs/ACs/Constituencies want to provide public comments on how ICANN
manages the proper roll out of regulated industries/sensitive string new
gTLDs.  The concept of the Policy Advisory Boards is currently being
circulated more broadly within the community so the purpose of this
email and attached letter is to follow up with the NGPC on this matter
in support of the GAC Buenos Aires Communique reference to Public
Interest Commitment Specifications (PICS).

We look forward to your response in due course.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kind regards,

RA

*Ron Andruff*

*RNA Partners*

*www.rnapartners.com <http://www.rnapartners.com> *

*From:* Ron Andruff [mailto:randruff at rnapartners.com]
*Sent:* Wednesday, September 25, 2013 18:41
*To:* 'cherine.chalaby at icann.org'
*Cc:* Heather.Dryden at ic.gc.ca <mailto:Heather.Dryden at ic.gc.ca>;
'peter.nettlefold at dbcdd.gov.au'; Olivier Crepin-Leblond
*Subject:* Regulated industry/sensitive new gTLDs PICS - Policy Advisory
Board model
*Importance:* High

Dear Cherine,

During the NGPC discussions with the Government Advisory Committee at
ICANN Beijing concerns emerged about how to ensure that new gTLDs from
regulated industries/professions act in the public interest, and how
they can demonstrate that they are fully supportive of the interests of
those who are affected as users, not merely as registrants, in such gTLDs.

As you know, numerous applications for gTLDs that are representative of,
or related to, regulated sectors were received by ICANN.  In recognizing
the GAC's interest in how regulated industry/sensitive string applicants
will adequately address core concerns about the public interest impact
of their applications, I have been working with others to develop
approaches that are high level and standardized to a great extent. This
approach would allow applicants for gTLD strings associated with
regulated industries and professions (or other high risk sectors, such
as .KIDS, etc.) to demonstrate how they will develop, implement, and
enforce policies for the registration practices and standards in their
respective gTLDs.  In our view, these practices and standards should
reflect the concerns of regulatory authorities, public interest
organizations -- and most importantly, users -- to enable those gTLDs
applicants to move ahead through the review process as expeditiously as
possible.  An appropriate Policy Advisory Board (PAB) should be
established prior to approval of a new gTLD application by ICANN, as the
practices and standards it develops will determine acceptable
registrants and uses.

The attached Policy Advisory Board model documents provide a mechanism
by which the GAC safeguard advice for protecting the public interest can
be implemented to assure that, as Internet users interact with domains
at new 'sensitive string' gTLDs associated with regulated industries and
professions, they can be certain that the registrants are bona fide
entities engaged in legitimate activities.  This PAB approach
establishes a standard framework for appropriate safeguards at sensitive
string gTLDs that allows the flexibility to ensure that each Policy
Advisory Board is reflective of a particular string and the concerns
associated with it. The safeguards can be fully developed and
implemented through the establishment of balanced and inclusive Policy
Advisory Boards that can develop appropriate registrant eligibility
criteria and registry policies -- those policies, in turn, can be
incorporated within enforceable Public Interest Commitments
Specifications (PICS) for the registry. 

The focus of this model is establishing baseline criteria and a standard
threshold of certainty for the public, and for governments, through a
standardized approach to accountability and public interest. On behalf
of my colleagues and myself, we hope it might inform the NGPC and GAC
deliberations on PICS in a useful and productive way. 

I would welcome further discussion on this matter should you feel that
would be of benefit to your Committee.

Kind regards,

RA

*Ron Andruff*

*RNA Partners*

*www.rnapartners.com* <http://www.rnapartners.com>**

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