[ALAC] Steve Crocker's Op-Ed in the WSJ

Sat Apr 23 15:53:23 UTC 2016

Sent from my LG G4
Kindly excuse brevity and typos
On 23 Apr 2016 16:48, "gbruen at knujon.com" <gbruen at knujon.com> wrote:
>
>
>  Right now we have a pantomime of consumer input, our name is used in
vain.
>
SO: While recognising the reality of consensus building within such a
diverse  ICANN community , I am definitely in agreement with your statement
above especially as it concern transition.

Regards

> In your previous message you insisted that we should engage directly with
the board on this issue. If furture interactions with the board are going
to be like the last one, we're not going anywhere.
>
> -Garth
>
>
> On 4/20/16 1:32 AM, Rinalia Abdul Rahim wrote:
>>
>> Hello, ALAC.
>>
>> Steve Crocker's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal below.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Rinalia
>>
>> (http://tinyurl.com/zu634s4).
>>
>>
>>> ________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>        OPINION
>>>
>>> Broadening the Oversight of a Free and Open Internet
>>>
>>> Stewardship by the global community will guard against ‘capture’ by one
group or government.
>>>
>>> By Stephen D. Crocker, April 19, 2016 6:31 p.m. ET
>>>
>>> Today the global Internet connects three billion of us. While it has
grown, the world has shrunk. Geographic distance has become less relevant
as we can more easily access information, communicate and reach new
customers.
>>>
>>> The Internet has matured because it is free and open, led by the
private economy and based on voluntary standards. It is built on the
principles that define America: free enterprise and limited government.
>>>
>>> It is those same ideals of privatization that frame a proposal recently
sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that
would transition stewardship of some key Internet technical functions away
from the U.S. to a diverse and accountable global Internet community.
>>>
>>> Why is such a transition needed? Since the Internet’s inception, the
U.S. Commerce Department and the California nonprofit corporation that I
head, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, have been in
charge of coordinating the global assignment of Internet addresses and
domain names. In 2014 the U.S. government decided a more international
stewardship was appropriate. Since then, the global Internet community has
been working on a proposal that assures that such a transition will not
threaten the openness and freedom of the Internet.
>>>
>>> First and foremost, this proposal guards against “capture” by any one
group or government. This is the primary reason the Internet
community—along with businesses, civil society and other interest
groups—has given its blessing to the changes.
>>>
>>> On March 17, representatives from the Intel Corporation, the Internet
Society and others told Congress they supported the transition. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Council for International Business, the
Information Technology Industry Council, the Software & Information
Industry Association and others also approve of the plan.
>>>
>>> Business leaders from companies like Google, Verizon, AT&T, Cisco and
Yahoo participated in the development of the proposal. Academics from
Harvard, George Mason University and other institutions also weighed in.
>From the International Chamber of Commerce to the Center for Democracy and
Technology, diverse organizations have voiced support.
>>>
>>> These groups understand the vital role of the Internet in strengthening
the global economy by creating jobs and economic growth. Almost $8 trillion
of commerce takes place on the Internet annually, an example of how
dependent the world economy has become on a single, unified network.
>>>
>>> But there are no guarantees about the Internet’s future. In fact, the
transition proposal came from the understanding that maintaining the status
quo would risk the single, free and open Internet that we cherish.
>>>
>>> If the U.S. does not transition its stewardship role to the global
Internet community, then other governments may try to move control to
organizations like the United Nations. There is also a risk that some
governments may form their own national or regional networks. This
disruptive splintering would damage the economy and weaken personal
Internet use.
>>>
>>> This potential threat to the Internet was understood as far back as
1997, when the U.S. formalized its largely symbolic role as steward of some
of the Internet’s technical functions. It intended to move away from this
role once Icann was mature enough to operate without the U.S. as a backstop.
>>>
>>> In March 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration announced that it wanted to begin the process of severing
its contract with Icann. The government stipulated that Icann remain an
incorporated U.S. nonprofit entity and would need to be strongly
accountable to diverse stakeholders with an interest in the Internet.
>>>
>>> Over the past two years, myriad interests and participants in the
global Internet community worked tirelessly to meet that challenge.
Hundreds of stakeholders undertook an amazing effort that logged more than
400 meetings and calls, some 32,000 mailing list exchanges and hundreds of
working hours to devise a transition proposal. A plan describing how the
transition always envisioned could be implemented has now been delivered to
the Commerce Department.
>>>
>>> The proposal reinforces the private economy-led model that has allowed
policy to keep pace with the Internet’s growth. What could be more American
than a world that has a free and open Internet, in which all stakeholders
have a voice in its governance and no one interest has a controlling say?
>>>
>>> A successful stewardship transition will allow online innovation and
productivity to continue to thrive. What’s more, it will be a validation of
the approaches to other pressing transnational issues such as privacy,
online content, interconnection fees, taxation and cybersecurity.
>>>
>>> This transition, maintaining the global Internet’s role as an incubator
for innovation and a stimulator of domestic and international economic
growth, merits broad support. We owe it to future generations to assure
that the Internet of tomorrow is as free, open and resilient as the
Internet of today.
>>>
>>> Mr. Crocker is the chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Garth Bruen
> gbruen at knujon.com
>
> 617-947-3805
> http://www.knujon.com
> Fisher College, Criminal Justice Division
> ICANN At-Large Advisory Council
> Author: WHOIS Running the Internet
> http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118679555.html
>
>
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