[ncdnhc-discuss] Yesterday's Meeting with DOC

[James Love]

A Washington, DC based NGO E-Commerce Roundtable) met yesterday with DOC, to
discuss ICANN.   Some of us encouraged DOC to consider a re-bid on its ICANN
contracts, to allow for competition. There is an issue of whether or not
there are consequences when non-profits fail to deliver as promised.   On
the "reform" front, several of us pushed for a decentralization of the DNSO
functions, perhaps through regional DNSO bodies, similar to what one sees in
the numbering area.   Some believe that 90 percent of ICANN's problems
relate to the DNSO, and that few of the DNSO policies need to be made at a
global level.

The DOC asked that most of its comments be off the record, but I can report
that the DOC was surprisingly concerned that consumer and civil society
concerns be addressed fairly by ICANN.  The Lynn proposal to have
governments nominate board members for the ICANN board apparently has zero
support within the GAC, raising again the issue of who chooses the ICANN
board members.  One person at the meeting reported that one ICANN board
member  told him that he would never agree to a procedure that would elect
people like Karl Auerbach and Andy Mueller-Maguhn.

There was some talk of the ITU proposal, and my guess is that there will be
more talk of this, unless some other intergovernmental organization comes up
with something else.   The DOC seemed to be saying "It's broke, let's fix
it," but the issue of "its broke, let's try something else" is not out of
the question, if the ICANN board cannot come up with something had addresses
some basic issues of accountability and responsiveness to consumer and civil
society interests.

Jamie