[NA-Discuss] Letter from FTC to ICANN

[Carlton Samuels]

@Avri, +1.

Unfortunately, Eduardo is quite right that the IANA relationship is central
to the idea of U.S. 'ownership of the Internet'.  This view has quite a
following in political Washington; the political Luddites from the sticks
leading the charge.

American exceptionalism is but one of the issues that drive the alternative
root movement. ANd if allowed to proceed without challenge, makes for an
altogether illiberal world; fundamentalist fragmentation and the spread of
a coven of Luddite communities around the world.

IMHO, this future does violence to the global public interest.  I am
unanimous in  dissent.

BTW, most of us at the edge of empire well understand that from the point
of view of more thoughtful Americans, the At-Large in ICANN is
manifestation of continued  engagement with the rest of the world.

Mind you, this is not to ignore the fact that a certain set in the ICANN
world sees the At-Large merely as a fig leaf to cover the odium and
cynicism of their 'first among equals' perspective.

- Carlton

==============================
Carlton A Samuels
Mobile: 876-818-1799
*Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround*
=============================


Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:16:26 -0500
> From: Avri Doria <avri at ella.com>
> Subject: Re: [NA-Discuss] FTC letter on new gTLDs
> To: NARALO Discussion List <na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
> Message-ID: <7E80EDA1-DB32-4984-A3F6-DEDCD375CFDB at ella.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>
> On 19 Dec 2011, at 15:01, Eduardo Diaz wrote:
>
> > As far as I know, US owns IANA therefore they own the Internet. So even
> though they may not have any authority over the ICANN multistakeholder
> process in the end it boils down to who owns it. Don't you think?
>
> No I don't.  The instant the US tries to control it a suzerain  it will
> inspire several different movements, includoing:
>
> - a departure from the single source on names controlled by IANA
> - a departure from control by a US incorporated organization.
>
> Much of the world is watching and is not friendly to the idea of the US
> pulling the strings.  The second that ICANN starts allowing itself to be
> jerked around by US agencies whose strings are controlled by big US money,
> is the beginning of the end.
>


> avri
>