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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>Elliot,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>Great article. One key point that I fear
will be lost in debate is this one:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>"<FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000
size=3>Companies that rely on a free Internet--and there are few technology
companies that don't--need to become active in the ICANN process through the
</FONT><A title=http://gnso.icann.org/commercial-and-business/
href="http://gnso.icann.org/commercial-and-business/"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>Business or ISP Constituencies</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>;"</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>It would be great if we saw more attendance and
participation in the ICANN process from these groups.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>Regards,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005>Tom Barrett</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=546183116-06062005></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> owner-registrars@gnso.icann.org
[mailto:owner-registrars@gnso.icann.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Michael D.
Palage<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, June 06, 2005 11:40 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
registrars@dnso.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> [registrars] Good Article - Worth a
Read<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN class=266383715-06062005><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>Hello All:</FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=266383715-06062005></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN class=266383715-06062005><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>I thought the following article by Elliot Noss, was
very informative and worth a read.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=266383715-06062005></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN class=266383715-06062005><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>Best regards,</FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=266383715-06062005></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT size=2><SPAN class=266383715-06062005><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>Michael</FONT> </SPAN><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT><A
href="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5730589.html"
eudora="autourl">http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5730589.html</A><BR><BR>A
battle for the soul of the Internet<BR>By Elliot Noss, Special to
ZDNet<BR>Published on ZDNet News: June 3, 2005, 5:19 AM PT<BR><BR><BR><B>With
little fanfare, there is a battle going on for the soul of the Internet. The
United Nations and the <A href="http://www.itu.int/home/">ITU</A> (International
Communications Union) are trying to wrest control of domain names, the DNS and
IP addresses from <A href="http://www.icann.org/">ICANN</A> (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). This battle manifests itself
through the U.N.-created <A href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/">World Summit on
Information Society</A> (WSIS) and the ITU-lead <A
href="http://www.wgig.org/">Working Group on Internet Governance</A>
(WGIG).<BR><BR></B>While the Internet is essentially a series of protocols
adhered to by common consent, it relies on a single authoritative root at its
core. This is what assures Internet users who type "zdnet.com" into their
browsers that they end up where they thought they should. Anything but
uniqueness with this vital resource would result in collision and confusion. The
same is true for e-mail. Unless senders are certain that there is only one
unique identifier for a recipient, they cannot use e-mail with
confidence.<BR><BR>Both the U.N. and the ITU have their reasons for trying to
wrest control of these vital resources from ICANN. For the U.N., ICANN
represents a body that transcends the nation-state structure, and could become a
model for similar efforts covering subject matter most appropriately dealt with
at a global level. For the ITU, gaining control of core Internet resources
represents an opportunity to put the Internet-genie back in the bottle and gain
a greater measure of relevance in the IP networking world. The ITU doesn't see
itself as merely an overseer of the old circuit-switched networks, which it
presides over today, but as the overseer of all networks, including the
Internet. <BR><BR>While ICANN has its flaws, it also possesses important, unique
characteristics. Two are worthy of special note. First, ICANN's form of
governance explicitly includes policy, technical, business and user interests
under one roof. Each interest group has a formal role and voice in both
policy-making and governance. Each has a stake in the proceedings, and each is
an important part of the system. (Yes, users' voices need be heard more, and as
an active participant in the ICANN process and member of the 2005 ICANN
Nominating Committee I will continue to work toward that goal). Having these
combined interests explicitly inside the process avoids some of the perversions
that we have seen in other forms of governance, campaign finance being perhaps
the starkest example.<BR><BR>Second, ICANN is a truly global organization. It is
global in the sense that individuals involved represent one of the
above-mentioned interests, but not national governments. This is an important
concept in that the Internet is truly a global resource, but it is this unique
element that creates the greatest challenge. We have no model for managing a
global resource of this nature. There are numerous models for managing
international resources, resources being managed between nations, but that is
not what the Internet is. In this regard, ICANN mirrors the Internet in that it
works by "rough consensus." The checks and balances are systemic. This is what
has allowed the price of domain names to drop by 50- to 75 percent over the last
five years while service levels have increased dramatically. This is what has
allowed the <A href="http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm">Uniform Dispute
Resolution Process</A> (UDRP) to eliminate cybersquatting of
trademarks.<BR><BR>The U.N.'s WSIS contains 40 delegates, including members from
Cuba, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Pakistan, Syria, Russia and
Egypt. If the U.N. controlled domain names and IP addresses, the ability of
countries to censor the Internet would be greatly enhanced, as well as the
ability to tax or impose other regulatory burdens on these resources in order to
fund unrelated projects of any kind. <BR><BR>In fact, if the U.N. and the ITU
were successful, it is not difficult to envision a Balkanization of the Internet
as whole portions of the Internet decide they did not want to rely on the U.N.
and the ITU for their single authoritative root. If that Balkanization were to
take place, the damage to the global economy would be incalculable. <BR><BR>In
addition, these Internet governance positions would not be plum U.N. postings.
We could expect to see the likes of Internet pioneer Vint Cerf replaced by some
dictator's wife's third cousin.<BR><BR>The U.N./ITU put forward two main
arguments for replacing ICANN. They claim that it's necessary to wrest control
of the Internet from the United States and that ICANN is a private organization
that is beholden to no one and that represents no one.<BR><BR>To be clear, ICANN
is a not-for-profit California corporation that nominally reports to the US
Department of Commerce and operates under a memorandum of understanding with the
agency that is reviewed and renewed in six-month intervals.<BR><BR>Despite this,
ICANN is not American--it is global. There are three Americans on a 15-person
board of directors. There are six Americans on the 22-person generic
names-supporting organization (GNSO) council, the main policy-making body. Two
Americans are on the 10-person at-large advisory council (ALAC). There has not
been a meeting in the US since November 2001, and the earliest possibility of a
US meeting is in June 2007, a 17-meeting gap (the last North American meeting
was in Montreal in June 2003, and the next is in Vancouver in
December).<BR><BR>As for it being representative, ICANN has always had one
prerequisite for involvement--a willingness to take the time and effort to
participate. There is active representation from Internet communities from
around the world. The level of participation, the quality of participation and
the output of the process have steadily improved over ICANN's history. Neither
the U.N. nor the ITU can make any of these claims. Participation in their
processes require a position in or through a national government or a Telco
monopoly, neither of which are known for their deep appreciation and
understanding of the Internet.<BR><BR>There is no doubt that both the U.N. and
the ITU are much more adept at politics than either ICANN staff or the vast
majority of participants in the ICANN process. That makes the threat here all
the more real. <BR><BR>It is important to remember that we all rely on the rich
ecosystem that is the free Internet. We are all beneficiaries of the innovation
it spawns, the information it provides and the interaction it supports. We
cannot take this for granted.<BR><BR>Companies that rely on a free Internet--and
there are few technology companies that don't--need to become active in the
ICANN process through the <A
href="http://gnso.icann.org/commercial-and-business/">Business or ISP
Constituencies</A>; other institutions and not-for-profits through the <A
href="http://gnso.icann.org/non-commercial/">non-commercial constituency</A>.
Companies, institutions and individuals from around the world who have access to
their governments' decision makers need to let them know that the Internet needs
to stay free and that supporting ICANN supports that principle. Individuals who
care about the future of the Internet and believe they can contribute to
creating a better ICANN and preserving a freer Internet should think about the
ICANN nominating committee's call for <A
href="http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-29apr05.htm">Statements of
Interest</A>, which seeks qualified candidates to help the organization move
forward. <BR><BR>The Internet has contributed more to freedom, education and
innovation than any other advance of the last number of decades. It deserves to
be protected from the people and the institutions that do not share an
appreciation for preserving the values upon which the Internet was
founded.<BR><BR><I>Elliot Noss is president and CEO of <A
href="http://resellers.tucows.com/about/">Tucows</A>, an Internet services
company that provides back office solutions and wholesale Internet services to a
global network of more than 6,000 service providers. Tucows is a domain name
registrar and both participates in the ICANN process and benefits from it. Noss
is a member of the 2005 ICANN Nominating Committee.<BR></I></BODY></HTML>