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ICANN & Internet Democracy
from the hammering-on-the-square-peg dept.
Before we even get into this, I'm going to recommend again that everyone sign up for ICANN's At-Large membership. The deadline is July 31 - if you haven't signed up by then, you've missed your chance to be one of a few thousand voters who will affect the course of the internet's development. U.S. registration is way below that of other internet-savvy nations on a percentage-of-internet-users basis, because the media in those countries has been running extensive registration campaigns. Slashdot will be covering the election process - register to vote! (Note: if you're planning to self-nominate yourself for one of the open board seats, even if it's not the North America seat, please email me - I'd like to talk to you.) We'll also take this opportunity to plug an unofficial site for the At-Large community created by a slashdot reader, www.applyatlarge.com. It's just getting started, but the At-Large community could use some non-ICANN methods of communication.
Jett writes "TomPaine.com has an interesting article discussing the upcoming ICANN elections. The article gives a lot of good info on how ICANN is set up as well as some analysis on some of the problems they are facing to ensure fair and democratic elections."
There's some information about the actual on-going meeting available in near-real-time, supposedly even a web-based chat though I haven't seen it in operation, sponsored by the Berkman Center. Keep in mind that Japan is ~14 hours ahead of the U.S., so the Saturday meetings will be occuring Friday night in the U.S.
Probably the most important news at this meeting is not the wrangling over new .TLDs, even though that is the only aspect of the ICANN meeting getting any press coverage. Though the vote hasn't happened yet, I'm willing to wager that the restrictive NSI proposals will win out - a few new .TLDs will be started, NSI will be running at least one of them (way to diversify!), with massive trademark protections so that most "good" domains will be unregistrable. That battle isn't going to be won any time soon. Note that every single problem associated with domain names - every single one, from squatting to scalping to companies hijacking domains from individuals - is caused by artificial scarcity of names. Eliminate the two sources of artificial scarcity (limited TLDs and trademark law) and all domain name problems vanish.
But the most important initiative at this meeting is the ambitiously-named Internet Democracy Project, started by the American Civil Liberties Union, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The site is already a great collection of links on ICANN, and promises more content in the future; it's a good place to start if you're new to this whole thing. They've articulated a civil society perspective on the ICANN elections process, ICANN itself, and the domain name system - excellent reading, excellent goals, I support them entirely. It remains to be seen what will come of this, but I hope that these organizations continue to do their utmost to push their views. Imagine a world where DNS was structured as they envision.
When did the internet get purchased by ICANN? (Score:3)
I tried signing up for the mentioned comittee, and had such a terrible time going through the process I just outright gave up. Sorry. I will just develop another internet-like society once the regulations are on, and I can't stand it anymore.
whatever.
Okay... (Score:4)
Damnit! Did we just slashdot icann?
Voting (Score:3)
I'm not saying don't go out and vote, of course. One voice is small, but one hundred are not. To be one of one hundred is big, and that is how you can help this situation out. Also, ICANN is not the end all to be all of political power on the internet, but one thing that it is, is a face that governments recognize when they think of the net (kind of), which is a form of political power. I think that louder voices are in the form of independant political action, however. So, vote, vote wisely, but if you are really concerned with what is going on in the net. Write to someone in government, write a story, write an editorial to your paper. These are ways to really get your voice heard.
I think ICANN, I think ICANN ... (Score:3)
ICANN insists on having my name, address, and email. What they don't say is what they're going to do with this info. Will this be published somewhere so that every spamming cretin on the planet will be sending me stuff? Am I going to be subjected to endless lobbying emails from groups seeking to influence my vote? Am I going to end up on the mailing list for every computer catalog in existence? (Apparently my concerns aren't shared, since the signup database over there is croaking from overload.)
Protest Songs and Flowers in Your Hair (Score:4)
HELP! HELP! I'm being oppressed!
The complete answer, from the FAQ (Score:4)
Yes. ICANN will use the personal data you provide in the application form only for purposes relating to its At Large Membership and election efforts. Your data will not be sold or transferred to unaffiliated companies or organizations, or used for any commercial purpose whatsoever.
Source:https://members.icann.org/faq.htm
I believe this answers your question.
Background on how this all started.... (Score:4)
Government White Paper [doc.gov]
Principles for a New System. In making a decision to enter into an agreement to establish a process to transfer current U.S. government management of DNS to such a new entity, the U.S. will be guided by, and consider the proposed entity's commitment to, the following principles:
1. Stability
The U.S. Government should end its role in the Internet number and name address system in a manner that ensures the stability of the Internet. The introduction of a new management system should not disrupt current operations or create competing root systems. During the transition and thereafter, the stability of the Internet should be the first priority of any DNS management system. Security and reliability of the DNS are important aspects of stability, and as a new DNS management system is introduced, a comprehensive security strategy should be developed.
2. Competition.
The Internet succeeds in great measure because it is a decentralized system that encourages innovation and maximizes individual freedom. Where possible, market mechanisms that support competition and consumer choice should drive the management of the Internet because they will lower costs, promote innovation, encourage diversity, and enhance user choice and satisfaction.
3. Private, Bottom-Up Coordination.
Certain management functions require coordination. In these cases, responsible, private-sector action is preferable to government control. A private coordinating process is likely to be more flexible than government and to move rapidly enough to meet the changing needs of the Internet and of Internet users. The private process should, as far as possible, reflect the bottom-up governance that has characterized development of the Internet to date.
4. Representation.
The new corporation should operate as a private entity for the benefit of the Internet community as a whole. The development of sound, fair, and widely accepted policies for the management of DNS will depend on input from the broad and growing community of Internet users. Management structures should reflect the functional and geographic diversity of the Internet and its users. Mechanisms should be established to ensure international participation in decision making.
Re:Govt. funding? (Score:3)
Nobody owns their IP addresses. You rent them from an internet provider. Each provider rents from a provider further up the hierarchy.
At the top of the pile is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority [iana.org] who have diced and sliced the existing IP address range into pieces, and given authority over those pieces to a handful of regional authorities. This keeps the inter-regional routing simple.
See this [arin.net] link for a description of the process.
The ICANN exists just to make the internet a confusing place. In confusion, there is profit!
the AC
If you're really interested in ICANN (Score:3)
http://www.dnso.org/dns o/notes/2000.GA-voting-registry.html [dnso.org]
They advises the ICANN Board with respect to policy issues relating to the Domain Name System. I joined working group 'C' last year and participated in the debate over new TLDs. Not a whole lot came out of it, but at least I tried.
I think that /. readers should pay attention to ICANN, and what Esther Dyson and her cronies are up to. If you don't stand up and speak your mind, companies like Micro$oft, MCI, and AT&T would be happy to do it for you. We need a larger representation of non-commercial users.
While you're at it, you might want to join the Individual Domain Name Owners' Constituency [democracy.org.nz] too.