[CCWG-ACCT] FW: ICYMI: Goodlatte & Grassley Op-ed -- Ensuring Trust in Internet Governance

Fri Feb 13 00:08:47 UTC 2015

Colleagues

The below may be of interest.  The authors are chairmen of two of the four
committees of Congress with the most direct interest in the IANA transition

Paul

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Paul Rosenzweig

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February 11, 2015

Ensuring Trust in Internet Governance

By Representative Bob Goodlatte & Senator Chuck Grassley

This week in Singapore, important decisions are being made about the future
of the Internet at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) 52 conference. At stake are fundamental questions: Should the
American people surrender stewardship over core technical functions that
have preserved the open and neutral operation of the Internet since its
inception? Should the Obama Administration cede this authority to an
organization many consider to be non-transparent, unaccountable and insular?
If the administration insists on a transfer, what guarantees, capabilities
and conditions first should be demanded and stress-tested by the global
multi-stakeholder community?

This discussion began with the surprise announcement by the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency within
the Department of Commerce, which asked ICANN to develop a proposal to
transition NTIA's role as "the historic steward of the Domain Name System
(DNS)." The announcement came as a shock to many who follow Internet
governance issues and others who depend upon the Internet to communicate
freely or conduct commerce around the world.

Indeed, NTIA's announcement appeared to directly contravene long-standing
positions of both the legislative and executive branches that the United
States should retain its stewardship in overseeing the management of the
Internet for the benefit of users worldwide.

Since this announcement, the administration's process and the factors it
weighed preceding this decision have not been fully disclosed. However,
evidence suggests that the proposal to transition the responsibility for
administering changes to all top-level domains, as well as serving as the
historic guarantor of the DNS, was dictated not by technical considerations
but rather in response to political motives. Moreover, questions persist as
to whether the Obama Administration had the authority to commence such a
transition without congressional oversight and approval in the first place.

In its original press release and subsequent communications, NTIA referred
to two congressional resolutions, S.Con.Res.50 and H.Con.Res.127, which were
passed by the 112th Congress. These resolutions affirmed House and Senate
opposition to attempts by foreign governments and inter-governmental
organizations to assume control over the Internet and generally endorsed the
multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance. These resolutions were
specifically intended to signal U.S. opposition to efforts by other nations
to enlist the United Nations and empower the International
Telecommunications Union as the global regulator of the Internet.

However, neither resolution mentioned ICANN, the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) functions that NTIA now proposes to transfer oversight
over, or contained a suggestion, explicit or otherwise, that the United
States should contemplate surrendering stewardship over the administration
of these critical functions to ICANN or any other entity. In fact, two other
resolutions passed in 2005, H.Con.Res.268 and S.Res.323, affirmed that
operation and management of the Internet's domain name and addressing system
should remain under the oversight of the United States. The administration's
practice of playing fast and loose with clear statements of Congressional
intent is not the way to inspire confidence, build support or work towards
achieving consensus.

Serious questions remain about the wisdom of ceding this authority, as well
as the specifics of any transition. Our committees have been conducting
oversight of ICANN and we will continue to closely examine the processes of
the United States government and ICANN as these transition discussions
continue.

We welcome NTIA Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Larry
Strickling's recent acknowledgements that there are no hard and fast
deadlines for completing this process. If the administration is determined
to give up oversight of ICANN and the IANA contract, permanent improvements
to ICANN's accountability and transparency are critical to building public
and congressional trust for any proposed transition. Any consideration of
such a transition must be done carefully and in close coordination with
Congress, rather than in a unilateral way. Further, we encourage members of
the public and the many constituencies with interests in this process to
make their voices and concerns heard. We also encourage ICANN to ensure that
whatever results from this process shows that the outcome emanated from a
true bottom-up multi-stakeholder process and was neither imposed on nor
unduly influenced by ICANN's leaders, staff, or members of its board.

The U.S. has served as a critical and responsible backstop against
censorship and threats to openness and free speech on the Internet. As a
result, the Internet has thrived. We must ensure that these principles
remain intact for all Internet users across the globe. The future of the
Internet as a medium for free speech, the flow of ideas and global commerce
is at stake, and must be protected.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) is Chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee.

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20150211_ensuring_trust_in_internet_governance
/

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