IP: GROUPS BEGIN PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR INTERNET BOARD Edupage, 30 June 2000

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> GROUPS BEGIN PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR INTERNET BOARD
> A handful of public interest groups kicked off a "Become a
> Cyber Citizen" initiative this week. The campaign aims to
> educate and recruit potential voters for the fall election to
> nominate five Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
> (ICANN) board members.  The first election is open to anyone age
> 16 or older who has an Internet address and registers by July 31.
> The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), Common Cause, and
> the American Library Association are the groups backing
> the initiative.  All three groups have had a somewhat
> rocky relationship with ICANN.  "Internet users need to exercise
> their right to vote to ensure that ICANN's decisions are in the
> best interests of the greater Internet," said CDT Executive
> Director Jerry Berman.  ICANN President Mike Roberts said he is
> glad the three groups are helping the organization reach out
> to voters.  On a related note, ICANN's July 13 meeting in Japan
> will likely address proposals to add new top-level domains.
> (New York Times, 29 June 2000)