IP: Future of the Internet and ICANN

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 10:14:41 -0800 (PST)
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Future of the Internet and ICANN
> Cc: lauren () pfir org, neumann () pfir org
>
> As much as we respect Mike Roberts and his work, it is difficult to find his
> recent statements [1], about the "new ICANN" as anything other than extremely
> "problematic" at best.  ICANN's continuing controversies and problems have
> in large part been a function of ICANN's taking on functions well outside
> its appropriate purview.  As we have discussed previously [2], ICANN's
> historical basis and structure have not been and remain unsuitable for many
> of the tasks it has attempted to date, even given their sincere efforts.
>
> Recent events have not fundamentally altered the importance of the Internet.
> The Internet's crucial contributions to the world's infrastructure far
> predate the horrors so fresh in our minds, although some persons have only
> now begun to appreciate this reality.  But what has also long been true is
> that ICANN's stewardship of various key functions relating to the Net
> has been inadequate in many important respects.
>
> We continue to consider ICANN's deficiencies to be structural and
> increasingly intractable as the organization has stretched beyond its core
> competencies.  Our calls for the creation of a truly representative
> organization to help coordinate a comprehensive range of critical Internet
> responsibilities [3], seems more crucial now than ever before.
>
> Arguments claiming that ICANN is "the only game in town" and that not
> supporting ICANN risks chaos, nationalization, and other unwelcome prospects
> are fallacious and seem to border on fear-mongering.  The assignment of
> further important responsibilities to ICANN (by government or other groups)
> would only exacerbate already serious problems.  This is particularly true
> for critical aspects of the Internet, such as reliability and security, that
> go far beyond the relatively minor niceties of domain name assignment
> policies.
>
> ICANN itself is not the issue.  It is specifically the security, safety,
> reliability and numerous other attributes of the Internet that should be our
> central focus.  Now is the time to "bite the bullet" and admit to ourselves
> that ICANN is not the appropriate venue to be dealing with most of these
> extremely important matters.
>
> Rather than trying to continue building upon the limited framework of ICANN,
> we need to decide that we're going to do what's right for the Internet and
> the world.  Even the best technological concepts and "solutions" will be
> utterly meaningless in the absence of such a course.  We must take
> responsibility for our actions and move forward with the establishment of
> *appropriate* organizations that will provide a firm and stable foundation
> for the future of the Net and its users.  Any other path may well lead us
> directly into the abyss.
>
>      [1] Message from Mike Roberts
>          http://atlargestudy.org/forum_archive/msg01113.shtml
>
>      [2] PFIR Statement on Internet Policies, Regulations, and Control
>          http://www.pfir.org/statements/policies
>
>      [3] Proposal for a Representative Global Internet Policy Organization
>          http://www.pfir.org/statements/proposal
>
>  - - - - -
>
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () privacyforum org
> Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
> Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
>
> Peter G. Neumann
> neumann () pfir org or neumann () csl sri com or neumann () risks org
> Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
> Moderator, RISKS Forum - http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks
> Chairman, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> http://www.csl.sri.com/neumann


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