more news on ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie's air rage incident & cover-up attempt

[Robin Gross]

ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie's "air rage" incident & cover-up attempt  
have made the news in Canada's Globe & Mail.

I've been told in the past from board members that "even though  
Fowlie embarrasses the organization every year or so, they haven't  
fired him because they think he's a nice guy and they like him".  At  
some point, the board will have to put the best interests of the  
organization ahead of their personal friendship with the Ombudsman.

Robin


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/internet-ombudsman- 
riled-by-disclosure-of-bad-behaviour-on-flight/article1652548/

Internet ombudsman riled by disclosure of bad behaviour on flight
Frank Fowlie wants his name removed from an online document released  
by the Canadian Transportation Agency

Paul Waldie
 From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Jul. 26, 2010 8:24PM EDT

As ombudsman for the agency that manages Internet domain names, Frank  
Fowlie is used to dealing with complaints related to the Web.

But now Mr. Fowlie, a Canadian and a former RCMP officer, is pursuing  
his own complaint about the Internet and the disclosure online of  
some damning details about his bad behaviour during an Air Canada  
flight last year.

Mr. Fowlie wants the Canadian Transportation Agency to remove his  
name from a decision the federal agency made in February involving a  
case he brought against Air Canada. In the five-page decision, posted  
on the CTA’s website, the agency not only ruled against Mr. Fowlie  
but questioned his credibility and concluded his behaviour during the  
flight was “abusive and offensive.” Mr. Fowlie says publication of  
the ruling on the website has made him the “target of media  
scrutiny” and undermined public confidence in his position as  
ombudsman for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and  
Numbers, or ICANN. The non-profit organization is based in California  
and co-ordinates the system for naming Internet addresses.

The CTA has refused to take down his name. In a ruling released last  
week, it said his personal concerns don’t outweigh public access to  
agency rulings. The CTA also called his arguments “implausible”  
and questioned how someone in his position could make such claims.

The saga began on March 22, 2009, when Mr. Fowlie flew on Air Canada  
from Paris to Montreal with a connection to Vancouver, where he is  
based. During the first flight, Mr. Fowlie didn’t get his meal  
choice and started shouting and swearing, according to CTA filings.  
When the flight’s service director tried to intervene, Mr. Fowlie  
became aggressive. After the plane landed in Montreal, he complained  
to the ground manager in an “intimidating” manner, according to  
the CTA. His behaviour was so unruly the pilot banned him from the  
Vancouver connection. That enraged Mr. Fowlie, who had to be escorted  
from the boarding area by airport security, the CTA said. He got to  
Vancouver the next day on another Air Canada flight.

After returning home, Mr. Fowlie filed a complaint with the CTA about  
Air Canada’s conduct. The CTA dismissed the complaint. It didn’t  
help that Mr. Fowlie had altered notes he’d allegedly made at the  
time of the incident, putting his credibility into question, the CTA  
added.

Mr. Fowlie didn’t stop. When the ruling came out, he gave an  
interview to the Ottawa Citizen and criticized the CTA and Air  
Canada, saying the airline “views customers as cattle.” Soon blogs  
and websites began commenting on the ruling and Mr. Fowlie’s remarks.

Within weeks, Mr. Fowlie was back at the CTA, asking it to remove his  
name from the decision. He argued the publicity was damaging public  
perception about the ombudsman and could cost him his job, according  
to CTA filings. He also said he didn’t realize when he launched the  
complaint that publication of the ruling could have such an impact.

The CTA dismissed the request and challenged Mr. Fowlie’s arguments.  
The agency said he had been told repeatedly that CTA rulings were  
publicly available online. It also didn’t buy his concerns about his  
job. Mr. Fowlie’s “allegation that he will lose his employment is  
merely speculative and not proven by evidence,” the CTA said.

Mr. Fowlie, who has been ICANN ombudsman since 2004, was unavailable  
for comment.





IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org



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