[CPWG] ICANN’s Contractual Governance Regime

[David Mackey]

fyi: Sharing this blog post by Milton Mueller
<https://www.internetgovernance.org/2023/06/15/the-big-question-facing-icanns-contractual-governance-regime/>
regarding a discussion held at ICANN 77, because it seems relevant to the
At-Large CPWG community ...

*"ICANN never ceases to pose fascinating issues in global governance. At
ICANN 77, held in Washington DC June 12 – 16, a dramatic debate took place
about ICANN’s proper scope of authority. Some interest groups (mainly
Registries and GAC) want ICANN to be empowered to enforce compliance with
Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs), formerly known as Public Interest
Commitments (PICs). Civil society groups and some Internet businesses see
in the proposed change a threat to freedom of expression on the internet
and an attempt to undermine ICANN’s multistakeholder policy development
process.*

*Underlying this debate are important questions about the relationship
between private contracting, multistakeholder governance, and public
policy."*

*...*

*"The RVC problem is really a derivative of a more fundamental flaw in
ICANN’s new TLD processes. Instead of defining clear, simple rules for
nondiscriminatory awards of new TLDs, ICANN has created a bureaucratic
morass of regulations and veto powers. The fate of a TLD application is not
governed by any predictable rules. It is all discretionary, and the GAC in
particular wants to be in a position to veto or modify applications and
names that it doesn’t like.*

*Fortunately, Registry commitments that are designed to regulate content
and services and make ICANN their enforcer are clearly violations of
ICANN’s fundamental bylaws. The plot to bypass bottom up policy making
process cannot succeed unless those bylaws are modified, and the
modification would be so fundamental and the social gain so miniscule that
it is hard to imagine it ever happening.*

*Never underestimate the ability of ICANN’s board, the GAC and DNS industry
short-term self-interest to screw things up, however. Keep an eye on this
process, and we hope this blog post helped you understand the stakes."*
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