[CCWG-ACCT] "Consumer Trust" in the Mission Statement

[Greg Shatan]

I have to take issue with the formulation of the first question.  The
commitment* in paragraph 3 of the AoC to "*(c) promote competition,
consumer trust, and consumer choice in the DNS marketplace….” *is not "an
AoC provision specific to TLD expansion."  Paragraph 9.3 may be "an AoC
provision specific to TLD expansion" but 9.3 is just a specific application
of the more fundamental commitment in paragraph 3.  So the contention that
an expansion-specific provision is being "leveraged" is both incorrect and
somewhat leading: if "leveraging" is a bad thing (and it seems to be used
in a negative sense here, akin to "bootstrapping"), then who would answer
yes?

In any event, we should not be cherry-picking the AoC here.  "Consumer
trust" is an integral part of those commitments.  We should not eviscerate
this commitment.

I concur with Bruce and Steve's emails regarding the attempts to raise
definitional issues.  Whether the EU, for its purposes and in different
contexts, defines consumer differently is neither relevant nor problematic
for ICANN's commitment here.

Greg

_____
* I certainly read this as a commitment, and not merely some sort of
nebulous "goal".  As such, I guess I do disagree with Becky's opinion on
this (and also disagree that Becky's opinion is a fact (I often agree with
Becky's opinions, which are well-informed and well-considered, but even the
ones I agree with aren't facts.).)


On Sun, Jan 10, 2016 at 10:07 AM, Steve DelBianco <sdelbianco at netchoice.org>
wrote:

> Please see these working definitions of ‘Consumer' and 'Consumer Trust',
> from the 2012 Working Group that defined measures and metrics for the AoC
> Review of the 2012 gTLD expansion (
> <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/cctc/cctc-final-advice-letter-31oct12-en.pdf>
> link
> <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/cctc/cctc-final-advice-letter-05dec12-en.pdf>
> to WG report, page 5):
>
> *Consumer* is defined as actual and potential Internet users and
> registrants.
>
> *Consumer Trust* is defined as the confidence Consumers have in the
> domain name system. This includes
>
> (i) trust in the consistency of name resolution
> (ii) confidence that a TLD registry operator is fulfilling the Registry’s
> stated purpose and is complying with ICANN policies and applicable national
> laws and
> (iii) confidence in ICANN’s compliance function.
>
> *Consumer Choice* is defined as the range of options available to
> Consumers for domain scripts and languages, and for TLDs that offer
> meaningful choices as to the proposed purpose and integrity of their domain
> name registrants.
>
> *Competition* is defined as the quantity, diversity, and the potential
> for and actual market rivalry of TLDs, TLD registry operators, and
> registrars.
>
>
> That WG was created per a Dec-2010 Board resolution (link
> <http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-10dec10-en.htm>) requesting
> advice from the GNSO, ccNSO, ALAC and GAC on establishing the definition,
> measures, and three-year targets for competition, consumer trust and
> consumer choice in the context of the DNS in preparation for the AoC
> required review of the 2012 gTLD expansion.
>
> The WG's final report
> <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/cctc/cctc-final-advice-letter-05dec12-en.pdf>
> was adopted by its chartering organizations, GNSO and ALAC, with ALAC
> adding several additional measures.
>
> I believe these definitions are appropriate and workable for purposes of
> reviewing ICANN’s remit in expanding the gLTD space. They aren’t universal
> definitions to apply for everything ICANN does, but
>
>
>
> From: <accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> on behalf of
> Nigel Roberts <nigel at channelisles.net>
> Date: Saturday, January 9, 2016 at 3:32 PM
> To: "accountability-cross-community at icann.org" <
> accountability-cross-community at icann.org>
> Subject: Re: [CCWG-ACCT] "Consumer Trust" in the Mission Statement
>
> "Furthermore,under EU law, the notion of consumer does not extend to
> legal persons, even if they have a non-business character (e.g.
> non-profit associations).
>
> The Court of Justice has consis-
> tently held that EU definitions of consumer must
> not be given a wider interpretation."
>
> On 01/09/2016 10:30 PM, Nigel Roberts wrote:
>
> The definition of 'consumer' in this is problematic.
>
> In EU legislation it generally excludes businesses.  A common
> understanding would be a 'natural person acting outside the scope of an
> economic activity'.
>
>
>
> On 01/09/2016 09:56 PM, Bruce Tonkin wrote:
>
> Hello Malcolm,
>
> Even if rephrased, I don't think I understand what is intended to be
> meant by "consumer trust".
>
>
> It is a general term like human rights and public interest.
>
> I think the key is that it needs to be grounded in what it means for
> ICANN's limited mission.
>
> If we are talking about domain names it could be that:
>
> - a domain name resolves deterministically to a particular resource
> connected to the Internet
>
> (the implementation of DNSSEC at the root was intended to help with that)
>
> - there is a legal person that can be contacted when there is a
> problem with the operation of the  domain name
>
> (the collection and publication of contact information was intended to
> help with that)
>
> What it should not be in my personal view:
>
> - anything to do with the content of a website that might be referred
> to by the domain name
>
> - anything to do with the characteristics of a legal person associated
> with a domain name that might be inferred from the name
>
>
> Regards,
> Bruce Tonkin
>
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