Volume 9: 07 August
Original link: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions-en
A major milestone reached as two key proposals open for public comment
The transition of IANA's stewardship is now another step nearer as two key proposals are opened for public comment:
- The Consolidated IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal by the ICG
- The 2nd Draft Report on Work Stream 1 Recommendations by the CCWG-Accountability
The final version of both these proposals will eventually be submitted to the ICANN Board of Directors, who will transfer them to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). More information on these proposals, and how you can comment on their contents, is below.
Consolidated IANA stewardship transition proposal now open for public comment
On 31 July, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) announced the start of the public comment period for the Proposal to Transition the Stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Functions from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the Global Multistakeholder Community. The proposal consists of the three proposals that have already reached consensus among the Domain Names, Numbering Resources and Protocol Parameters communities, as well as a report by the ICG, which includes an assessment of whether the three proposals:
- Were developed using open and inclusive community processes, and whether they achieved consensus;
- Are complete and clear;
- Are compatible and interoperable, provide appropriate and properly supported accountability mechanisms, and are workable; and
- Together meet the NTIA's criteria.
The ICG notes that as the proposals have already undergone extensive public comment and discussionamongst the three operational communities, this public comment period is focused on how the three proposals work together as a whole and how it fares against the criteria established by NTIA for the transition.
The proposal will be available for public comment for 40 days. Following community input during the comment period, the ICG will decide whether to recommend that NTIA approve the transition proposal.
The proposal will be available shortly in all six official United Nations (UN) languages and Portuguese, but is currently only available in English. The news release about the proposal, however, is available now in these seven languages, with all translations linked from the English version.
Key links
How to submit a public comment
You can comment on the proposal, taking into account the ICG's 12 questions, by 8 September 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone). Comments can be submitted in one of two ways:
After you have submitted the form, you will receive an automatically generated email asking you to click a link to confirm your submission. Your comments will then be posted to the archive of public comments.
You may wish to use this template for your response. After submitting your comments you will receive two emails: the first confirms receipt of your email; the second confirms your comments have been posted to the comments archive.
To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of thetwo following webinars live:
- 6 August, 19:00 – 20:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
- 7 August, 11:00 – 12:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
The webinars will also be live interpreted in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and Portuguese and the recording posted shortly afterward. The transcript will also be translated and posted after the webinars.
CCWG-Accountability
On 3 August, the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) released its 2nd Draft Proposal on Work Stream 1 Recommendations. Since the first version of the proposal was released on 4 May, the CCWG-Accountability has taken a very open and agile approach to finding creative solutions to problems identified in previous iterations of their proposals. The second version also addresses a number of outstanding issues not fully fleshed out in the first draft. The most significant changes between the two drafts are:
- Mechanism to empower the ICANN community
The mechanism has undergone significant changes: in the May draft, there were two alternatives presented – member model and delegate model; following feedback received during the public comment period, the CCWG-Accountability brainstormed alternatives at ICANN53 in June, resulting in the development of an Empowered SO/AC model. Resulting from subsequent discussions at a face-to-face meeting in Paris in July, this second draft proposal presents the Community Mechanism as Sole Member Model.
- Four additional stress tests
The new stress tests have been added following suggestions contained in the Larry Strickling's 16 June blog post on the NTIA website.
- Refinements to key elements contained in the first draft
These refinements include:
- ICANN Mission & Core Values
- Removal of individual ICANN Board Directors and recall of the entire Board
- Independent Review Process
- Community power regarding ICANN's budget
- Work plan for Work Stream 2 (including adding a commitment to human rights in the ICANNBylaws)
- Implementation plan for Work Stream 1
The proposal also includes "minority views", which are statements by CCWG-Accountability members and participants who object to recommendations contained in the report. Additional minority views received after 1 August will be available here.
The proposal will be available for public comment for 40 days.
After the public comment period closes, the CCWG-Accountability aims to finalize its Work Stream 1 proposal for submission to its Chartering Organizations (GNSO, ALAC, ccNSO, GAC, ASO and SSAC) and then to the ICANN Board of Directors during or shortly after ICANN54 in Dublin. The proposal will then be submitted to the NTIA, along with the IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal. After Work Stream 1 is completed, the CCWG-Accountability will focus on Work Stream 2, which consists of accountability enhancements that do not need to be in place for the IANA stewardship transition to occur.
Key links
How to submit a public comment
You can comment on the proposal by 12 September 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone).
- Consider the CCWG-Accountability's three questions when developing your submissions:
- Do you agree that the CCWG-Accountability proposal enhances ICANN's accountability?
- Are there elements of this proposal that would prevent you from approving it transmission to Chartering Organizations?
- Does this proposal meet the requirements set forward by the CWG-Stewardship?
- Send an email to comments-ccwg-accountability-03aug15@icann.org.
To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of thetwo following webinars live:
- 4 August, 19:00 – 21:00 UTC (time zone converter here)
- 7 August, 7:00 – 9:00 UTC (time zone converter here)
The webinars will also be live interpreted in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and Portuguese and the recording posted shortly afterward. The transcript will also be translated and posted after the webinars.
IANA stewardship in the news
Upcoming key dates
Volume 8: 23 July
Original post here: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/volume-8-an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions
ICG
The IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) has announced that it intends to launch the public comment period for the Interim Final Proposal to Transition the Stewardship of the IANA Functions on 31 July, with an end date of around 8 September. The ICG will hold webinars at the beginning of the public comment period to provide an overview of the proposal. The most recent version of the ICG's draft proposal is Version 5. Although it is a lengthy document, 206 pages with some material still to be added, the vast majority of pages consist of the existing proposals that have reached consensus amongst the protocol parameters, numbering resources and domain names operational communities. The most significant new text in the ICG's draft proposal is its own report, currently 10 pages long, at the front of the proposal. The ICG's report includes the ICG's assessment of the three proposals from the operational communities to ensure:
- The community processes used to develop the proposals were open and inclusive, and achieved consensus;
- the proposals are complete and clear;
- the three proposals together are compatible and interoperable, provide appropriate and properly supported accountability mechanisms, and are workable; and
- the proposals together meet the NTIA criteria
For more background on the ICG's assessment of the three proposals, see its working document,Combined Proposal Assessment Matrix (v2).
CCWG-Accountability
The Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) held its latest face-to-face meeting in Paris, 17-18 July, which was attended in-person by 76 members and participants in person and an additional 30 joining remotely. Following legal analysis of the "EmpoweredSO/AC Model" presented by Adler & Colvin in the lead-up to the meeting, the CCWG-Accountability decided in Paris to pursue a new model, the "Community Mechanism as Sole Member Model (CMSM)". This new model builds on the Empowered SO/AC Model that emerged during ICANN 53, which in turn, built on the original member and designator models documented in the initial draft report of Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements. The CMSM would be established under ICANN Bylaws as the one and only member of ICANN. The CMSM would be composed of ICANN's Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs). While the CMSM would have the status of "legal personhood", the SOs and ACs themselves are not required to become legally recognized entities. The possibility of needing to adopt a formal legal status is one of the reasons that parts of the ICANN community were hesitant about the previously proposed models, which required SOs and ACs to adopt "legal personhood" if they wished to have access to "enforceability" mechanisms under the enhanced accountability framework being proposed.
Members of the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) were active in contributing to the work of the CCWG-Accountability before Paris, with 31 governments contributing input. These inputs were thenconsolidated into a single document by the GAC Secretariat and provided to the CCWG-Accountability before the Paris meeting. The CCWG-Accountability meeting in Paris discussed the concerns of governments and has acknowledged, in its Communiqué from the meeting, those concerns as well as the challenge governments face in making decisions about the new CMSM within the short timeframe available before ICANN 54 in Dublin.
Further, the CCWG-Accountability also reaffirmed in Paris its commitment to coordinating with the Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) on six key dependencies between the CCWG-Accountability's Work Stream 1 work and the work of the CWG-Stewardship:
- ICANN Budget
- ICANN Board
- IANA Function Review
- Customer Standing Committee
- Appeals Mechanism
- Fundamental bylaws
The Paris meeting also resulted in broad agreement on enhancements to the Independent Review Process (IRP) (see 18 July Session 2 notes for details). The CCWG-Accountability will create a subgroup to further develop IRP rules and procedures as well as fine tune the subject matter for IRP.
The CCWG-Accountability plans to publish the second version of its proposal for a 40-day public comment beginning 31 July and ending 8 September 2015. The second draft has not yet been published, but the working version will be published here.
Coordination on stewardship-related activities
To enable better communication and understanding of mutual expectations between working group chairs and ICANN SOs and ACs, ICANN is now supporting monthly Transition Facilitation Calls, the first which was held July 16 (listen to the audio recording).
At the public ICANN Board meeting at ICANN 53, the Board adopted a resolution regarding expenses for one of the two legal counsels retained by the CWG-Stewardship. This resulted in discussions about managing resourcing of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability processes moving forward.
Updates on other transition-related activities
IANA-related discussions
On 16 July, the IGF-USA 2015 held a discussion on the IANA stewardship transition and ICANNaccountability. The discussion has been documented in the Storify article, Internet Governance Forum USA 2015: IANA Transition.
On July 29, U.S. Rep. John Shimkus will speak on the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act, a bill which provides a framework for congressional oversight of the transition. Following his remarks, members of the Internet governance community will comment on the bill and outlooks for the transition's progress. The event will be webcast and archived within 24 hours.
Latest documents and drafts
IANA stewardship in the news
Upcoming key dates
29 Jul 2015 | ICG Teleconference #21, 5:00-7:00 UTC |
31 Jul 2015 | Public Comment Period for CCWG-Accountability's 2nd draft of ICANNaccountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) begins. |
| | Public Comment Period on interim final IANA stewardship proposal, consisting of names, numbers and protocol parameter components, begins. |
3-7 Aug 2015 | 3 webinars: briefings on ICG combined proposal released for public comment (times to be confirmed) |
8 Sep 2015 | Public Comment Period for CCWG-Accountability's 2nd draft of ICANNaccountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) closes. |
| | Public Comment Period on interim final IANA stewardship proposal closes (date TBC). |
18-19 Sep 2015 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting, Los Angeles |
30 Sep-15 Oct 2015 | CCWG-Accountability's 2nd and final proposal (Work Stream 1) presented toALAC, ASO, ccNSO, GAC and GNSO for their approval. |
18-22 Oct 2015 | ICANN 54 including ICG Face-to-Face meeting and presentation of proposals forIANA stewardship and ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) to theICANN Board for subsequent transmission to the NTIA. |
Week 1, Nov 2015 | ICANN Board transmits IANA stewardship and ICANN accountability (Work Stream 1) proposals to NTIA. |
Volume 7: 09 July
Original post here: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions
Volume 7: An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions
ICANN is compiling updates on the community discussions and progress of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability Processes. This information is positioned to help inform interested stakeholders in the recent developments in the processes, upcoming key dates, latest documents and drafts and a snapshot of any news coverage that occurs over the timeframe.
CWG-Stewardship
The final proposal by the Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) was forwarded to the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) following its approval by the CWG-Stewardship's five chartering organizations. Communication of formal approval by the chartering organizations, including any accompanying remarks, has now been published on the CWG-Stewardship's website:
Chartering organizations approved the proposal on the understanding that the necessary accountability mechanisms will be included in the final proposal for Work Stream 1 of the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability).
While the names proposal has now been forwarded to the ICG, the CWG-Stewardship will not disband yet. Outstanding work still to be conducted includes:
- Coordinating the issue of the IANA trademark with the protocol parameters and names communities1.
- Finalizing the work on Service Level Expectations (SLEs)
- Responding to any queries arising from the ICG's efforts to integrate all three community proposals into a combined IANA stewardship proposal
- Monitoring the CCWG-Accountability's final Work Stream 1 proposal to confirm it contains all that is required for the transition of stewardship of the names function to take place
- Participating as appropriate in the implementation process of the names component of the proposal
The CWG-Stewardship will continue to retain external legal counsel to assist in responding to any questions or input from the other operational communities the ICG on issues, such as the IANAtrademark issue, and in developing an implementation plan for the proposal.
CCWG-Accountability
During the public comment period on the initial draft report of Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements, there were a number of community concerns about the proposal to move ICANN to a mandatory member or “designator” model. In response to these concerns, onsite at ICANN 53, the CCWG-Accountability Co-chairs encouraged all of its members to pitch any alternative model that might better suit the needs of the different communities that together create the ICANN community.
A potential compromise model called the “Empowered SO/AC” model emerged, in which eachSupporting Organization (SO) and Advisory Committee (AC) has the choice of if, and when, to become a member (or designator) of ICANN. Under this model, all SOs and ACs would, by default, have all the benefits of the enhanced ICANN accountability framework, excluding the ability to use the courts as a method of enforcement. However, the power of enforceability could be claimed at any time, should anSO or AC choose to do so, by changing the SO/AC's status to become a formal member (or designator) of ICANN. Initial indications are that both the Designator and Member models could be applied under the Empowered SO/AC model, and the CCWG-Accountability is seeking legal advice on the most appropriate way forward. As the CCWG-Accountability is concentrating its efforts on determining an agreeable model before the target start date for its next public comment period at the end of July, the Co-chairs have announced that the summary of comments on the first comment period, originally due 29 June, will now be completed by early August.
The CCWG-Accountability has created a third Work Party, WP3, to examine issues that have been identified following the publication of the initial draft report, including staff and management accountability, SO/AC accountability and enhancement of diversity. The CCWG-Accountability is also developing a process for working with ICANN on drafting Bylaws associated with Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements to ensure the Bylaws can be adopted in a timely manner.
ICG
The ICG completed its assessment of the names proposal submitted by the CWG-Stewardship on its call #19 on 8 July. Drafts of the assessments are available in the ICG's Dropbox. It has also received a formal objection to the names proposal from a member of the community who had chosen not to participate in the CWG-Stewardship's work. The objection is on the basis that the final version of the names proposal was not presented for public comment before its presentation to the CWG-Stewardship chartering organizations for approval. As the ICG has a policy of non-interference with the consensus development processes of the three operational communities, the ICG is discussing passing the message back to the CWG-Stewardship for their comment.
The ICG's Communications Sub-Group has developed a communications strategy to engage the multistakeholder community as broadly as possible when the combined proposal is released for public comment. The communications strategy includes holding webinars to brief the community, producing graphics and slides to provide high-level overviews of the proposal, and translations of key materials.
Timeline for stewardship transition
On 6 July, the ICG replied to the NTIA's letter of 6 May, which asked for information about the timeline for completing the transition. The ICG noted there are three remaining phases of the transition process:
- Transition proposal finalization – the ICG hopes to have the final proposal delivered to the NTIAvia the ICANN Board around the time of ICANN 54, 18-22 October 2015, or shortly thereafter. TheICG considers this an optimistic timeline.
- U.S. Government evaluation – Based on the ICG's understanding of comments made by the NTIAduring ICANN 53, this phase would take 4-5 months, and would be completed around March 2016.
- Implementation of prerequisites
Based on these three phases, the ICG has suggested to the NTIA that the earliest date at which the transition of stewardship is likely to be completed is July 2016.
The Co-chairs of the CCWG-Accountability have also replied to the NTIA, noting that the July 2016 completion date for their work is a best-case scenario, and that it may be necessary to extend the implementation of Work Stream 1 accountability mechanisms through to September 2016.
Updates on other transition-related activities
IANA-related discussions
- On 8 July, the Africa Domain Name System Forum 2015 held a discussion on the IANAStewardship Transition.
- On 3 July, the APrIGF 2015 held a discussion on the transition as part of its Asia Pacific Leadership Program track.
- The Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2015, also known as the Dotcom Act of 2015, (H.R. 805) was passed by the House of Representatives on 23 June. It has now been sent to the Senate for its consideration.
- The Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives held a hearing, Internet Governance Progress After ICANN 53, on July 8. Witnesses were ICANN President and CEO, Fadi Chehadé and NTIA's Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator, Lawrence E. Strickling. The focus of the hearing was a reporting on the status of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANNAccountability.
U.S. Government processes related to the IANA stewardship transition
Latest documents and drafts
IANA stewardship in the news
Upcoming key dates
9 Jul 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #61, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
14 Jul 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Meeting #40, 12:00 - 14:00 UTC |
15 Jul 2015 | ICG Teleconference #20, 19:00-21:00 UTC |
17-18 Jul 2015 | CCWG-Accountability face-to-face meeting, Paris |
29 Jul 2015 | ICG Teleconference #21, 5:00-7:00 UTC |
31 Jul 2015 | Public Comment Period for CCWG-Accountability's 2nd draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) due to begin |
Week of 3 Aug 2015 | Public Comment Period on Interim Final IANA Stewardship Proposal, consisting of names, numbers and protocol parameter components, begins |
3-7 Aug 2015 | 3 webinars: briefings on ICG combined proposal released for public comment (times to be confirmed) |
18-19 Sep 2015 | ICG face-to-face meeting, Los Angeles |
30 Sep-15 Oct 2015 | CCWG-Accountability's 2nd and final proposal (Work Stream 1) presented to ALAC, ASO,ccNSO, GAC and GNSO for their approval |
18-22 Oct 2015 | ICANN 54 including ICG face-to-face meeting and presentation of proposals for IANAstewardship and ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1) to the ICANNBoard for subsequent transmission to the NTIA |
Week 1, Nov 2015 | ICANN Board transmits IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability (Work Stream 1) Proposals to NTIA |
Volume 6: 11 June
Original post here: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/volume-6-an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions
Volume 6: An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions
CWG-Stewardship
Following the closure of the Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) general public comment period on 20 May (with comments by those relying on translations of the proposal having a closing date of 26 May), the ICANN CWG-Stewardship staff support has compiled the comments into the following key synthesis documents:
The final staff report is still pending publication. The 49 submissions received before the close of the comment period on 20 May can be found here and can be downloaded as a single ZIP file. Additional comments submitted beyond the 20 May can be found on the comments page archive. The CWG-Stewardship plans to publish its final version of its draft proposal on 8 June.
The CWG-Stewardship will hold two webinars to help enable the community to better understand this final draft version of the proposal
- 11 June from 6:00 – 7:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
- 11 June from 13:00 – 14:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
CCWG-Accountability
The general public comment period for those responding to the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CWG-Accountability) call for public comments on the initial draft report[PDF 2.1 MB] of Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements has now closed. However, the comment period remains open until 12 June for those relying on the translated versions of the report's executive summary. As of 7 June, 60 comments have been submitted to the public archive of comments. Translations of the executive summary and full draft report can be found under Section III: Relevant Resources of the call for public comments page or on the CCWG-Accountability wiki page.
IANA stewardship and ICANN accountability at ICANN 53
The table below is correct as of 8 June 2015. For the most up-to-date version of which sessions will include IANA stewardship related discussions, see the full ICANN 53 schedule.
| Date | Time | Meeting | Room |
| 18 Jun | 9:00-17:00 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting | San Telmo |
| 19 Jun | 8:00-18:00 | CCWG-Accountability Working Session 1 | Retiro A |
| | 9:00-17:00 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting | San Telmo |
| 20 Jun | | No IANA or ICANN accountability meetings scheduled to date | |
| 21 Jun | 8:30-10:00 | GAC: Transition of US Stewardship of IANA | San Telmo |
| | 10:30-12:00 | GAC: Enhancing ICANN Accountability | San Telmo |
| | 11:00-12:00 | ALAC: NTIA IANA Functions' Stewardship Transition | Golden Horn |
| | 11:15-11:45 | GNSO: Update on IANA Stewardship Transition | Retiro B |
| | 11:45-12:15 | GNSO: Update on CCWG on Enhancing ICANN Accountability | Retiro B |
| | 13:30-14:30 | ALAC: ICANN Accountability and Transparency | Golden Horn |
| | 15:00-16:00 | CCWG-Accountability Meeting with the ICANN Board | Retiro C |
| | 18:30-20:00 | Evolving ICANN Accountability | Libertador C |
| 22 Jun | 10:30-13:00 | CWG-Stewardship/CCWG-Accountability Joint Town Hall Meeting | Libertador AB |
| | 16:45-18:00 | CWG-Stewardship Engagement Session | Libertador AB |
| 23 Jun | 8:30-17:45 | Joint Meetings with the Board | Libertador AB |
| | 10:00-10:30 | SSAC: Private meeting with the CCWG co-Chairs | TBC |
| | 14:00-15:45 | ccNSO: IANA Stewardship Transition/ICANN Accountability | La Pampa |
| | 15:00-17:00 | RSSAC: IANA Stewardship Transition/ICANN Accountability (TBC) | Auditorio |
| | 16:15-20:00 | At-Large Ad-hoc WG on the Transition of US Government Stewardship of the IANA Function and Accountability | Golden Horn |
| 24 Jun | 9:30-10:30 | GAC: IANA Stewardship Transition (cont.) | San Telmo |
| | 9:30-10:45 | ccNSO: Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG Proposals) | La Pampa |
| | 10:30-12:00 | AoC and Organizational Reviews: Supporting ICANN Accountability | Libertador AB |
| | 11:00-12:30 | GAC: Enhancing ICANN Accountability (cont.) | San Telmo |
| | 13:00-15:00 | GNSO: IANA Stewardship Transition/ICANN Accountability (TBC) | Libertador C |
| | 14:00-15:00 | Joint Meeting of the ASO/NRO with the ICANN Board | Martin Fierro |
| | 15:30-17:00 | CCWG-Accountability Working Session 2 | Libertador AB |
| 25 Jun | 8:30-10:00 | CWG-Stewardship Working Session | La Pampa |
| | 10:15-11:45 | CCWG-Accountability Working Session 3 | La Pampa |
| | 8:30-12:30 | ICG Working Session 3 | Libertador AB |
Updates on other transition-related activities
Transition timeline and implementation
Following a request by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to thechairs of the ICG [PDF 575 KB] and CCWG-Accountability for information on projected dates for completing the stewardship transition, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) wrote to the three operational communities (here, here and here) for more information on how long it would take to implement each of the three components of the transition proposal. The IETF Working Group on Planning for the IANA/NTIA Transition (IANAPLAN) has responded, stating they believe the protocol parameters component could be implemented promptly, pending more information about the possible involvement of the protocol parameters community in the CWG-Stewardship's proposed Post-TransitionIANA (PTI).
The announcement of Fadi Chehadé's departure as ICANN CEO in 2016
On 21 May, ICANN's CEO, Fadi Chehadé announced that he would leave his position in March 2016. Following his announcement, the NTIA released a short statement, noting, "A successful transition does not depend on the leadership of a single individual, but rather the engagement of the global multistakeholder community working collaboratively to ensure that the Internet remains open, secure, and resilient."
IANA-related discussions at WSIS Forum 2015 and EuroDIG 2015
U.S. Government processes related to the IANA stewardship transition
- On 5 June 2014, The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked by the Chairs of the U.S. Government's House Energy and Commerce Committee to review the NTIA's plan to transition its oversight of the IANA functions.
- In response to this, the Consolidated RIR IANA Stewardship Proposal (CRISP) Team submitted awritten response to the GAO [PDF 60 KB] on May 12.
- Also on May 12, a revised version of 2014's Defending Internet Freedom Act of 2014 (H.R. 5737) was submitted. This year's version, Defending Internet Freedom Act (H.R. 2251), is, in contrast to the previous version of the bill, supportive of the global multistakeholder efforts to develop a transition plan for IANA's stewardship, but still would require specific conditions to be met before theNTIA could complete the transition.
- On June 3, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2578). It contains similar language to the previous Act, which prevented government funds being used by the NTIA to complete the transition of its stewardship over IANA until the end of the financial year in September. The Act next goes to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.
Timeline of key events and processes related to the IANA stewardship transition
| 10 Jun 2015 | Last day for community comments on the translated versions of ICANNaccountability enhancements (Work Stream 1). |
| 11Jun 2015 | TheCWG-Stewardship presents revised version of its proposal to their chartering members (ALAC, ccNSO, GAC, GNSO, SSAC) for review and adoption. |
| 11-25 Jun 2015 | ALAC, ccNSO, GAC, GNSO, and SSACreview and consider adoption of CWG-Stewardship's revised proposal. |
| 5-18 Jun 2015 | TheCWG-Accountability reviews public comments on Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements and prepares documents for ICANN 53 briefings with the community. |
| 14 Jun 2015 | Deadline for numbers communityto comment on NRO's Draft Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the IANA Numbering Services |
| 29 Jun 2015 | ICANN staff submits a report of the public comments received on CCWG-Accountability's draft report on Work Stream 1-related ICANN accountability enhancements. |
| 21-25 Jun 2015 | All ICANN communities and other partiesmeet during ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, and online via remote participation, to discuss the IANA Stewardship Transition in a number of cross-community as well as stakeholder-specific sessions. (See "IANAStewardship and ICANN Accountability discussions in Buenos Aires" table of events above). |
| 25 Jun 2015 | TheCWG-Stewardship delivers the final proposal on the naming related portion to theIANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG). |
| 20 Jul 2015 | TheCCWG-Accountabilitypublishes second, revised, version of draft report on Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements for public comment. |
| 29 Aug 2015 | Last day for community comments on the second draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1). |
| Aug-Sep 2015 | Community comment period on interim final proposal, consisting of names, numbers and protocol parameter components, as compiled by the ICG. |
| 30 Sep-15 Oct 2015 | ALAC, ASO, ccNSO, GAC and GNSOreview and consider adoption of the CCWG-Accountability's revised proposal. |
| 22 Oct 2015 | TheCCWG-Accountabilitypresents Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements report to the ICANN Board. |
| Week 3, Oct 2015 | TheICGposts final combined proposal. |
| Post-ICANN54, TBD | ICANN Board transmits final IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal to NTIA. |
Latest documents and drafts
IANA stewardship in the news
Upcoming meetings and teleconferences
| 9 Jun 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Meeting #36, 6:00-9:00 UTC
CWG-Stewardship Meeting #58, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
| 10 Jun 2015 | ICG Teleconference, 12:00-14:00 UTC |
| 11 Jun 2015 | Webinar: briefing on final CWG-Stewardship proposal, 6:00-07:30 UTC & 13:00- 14:30 UTC
CWG-Stewardship Meeting #59, 11:00-12:00 UTC |
| 18-25 Jun 2015 | ICANN 53, including pre-meetings, Buenos Aires |
| 17-18 Jul 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Face-to-Face Meeting, Paris, France |
| 18-19 Sep 2015 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting, TBC |
Volume 5: 15 May
Original post here: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/volume-5-an-update-on-iana-stewardship-discussions-special-edition-on-the-icann-accountability-enhancements-draft
Volume 5: An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions, Special Edition on theICANN Accountability Enhancements Draft
CCWG-Accountability draft now open for public comment
On 4 May, the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) published its initial draft report on the elements of the ICANN accountability framework that it has identified as essential to happen, or be committed to, before the IANA Stewardship Transition takes place. This initial draft report will be open for public comment for 30 days. Following community input during the comment period and at ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, the CCWG-Accountability will produce a second draft report for a 40-day public comment period in July.
The recommendations in the initial draft now out for comment are not presented as the consensus of the CCWG-Accountability. Instead, the CCWG-Accountability has published the draft to solicit feedback from the community on the CCWG-Accountability’s approach as well as guidance on several options under consideration.
The CCWG-Accountability initial draft report is the fourth major community developed proposal to undergo public consultation as a part of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANNAccountability processes.
Key links
How to submit a public comment
Comment on the draft report, with or without annexes, by 3 June 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone):
- Respond to any or all of the 3 general questions and 15 issue-specific questions related to Work Stream 1 included in the announcement of the public comment period as well as in section 11 of the draft report. There is also an additional question on Work Stream 2 to help guide the CCWG-Accountability with its work.
- Send your comments to:
mailto:mcomments-ccwg-accountability-draft-proposal-04may15@icann.org
- When you receive an automatically generated email asking you to confirm your submission, please follow the instructions in the email to ensure your comments are submitted to the archive of public comments.
To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of thetwo following webinars live:
- 11 May from 11:00 – 12:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
- 11 May from 19:00 – 20:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
The webinars will also be transcribed and published from this CCWG-Accountability webpage in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
A timeline of events and processes related to the accountability proposal
Below is a summary of upcoming key meetings and processes specifically related to Work Stream 1 draft report and its interactions with the naming related portion of the IANA Stewardship Transition proposal. A list of dates associated with a wider range of stewardship transition related activities is included near the end of this report.
4 May 2015 | The CCWG-Accountability halts work on draft Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements. Work Stream 2 accountability work continues. |
20 May 2015 | Last day for community comments on the CWG-Stewardship second draft proposal. |
1 Jun 2015 | ICANN staff publishes report of public comments on the CWG-Stewardship’s second draft proposal. |
3 Jun 2015 | Last day for community comments on the ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1). |
4-29 Jun 2015 | ICANN staff compiles a report of the public comments received on CCWG-Accountability’s draft report on Work Stream 1-related ICANN accountability enhancements. |
5-18 Jun 2015 | The CCWG-Accountability reviews public comments on Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements and prepares documents for ICANN 53 briefings with the community. |
8 Jun 2015 | The CWG-Stewardship presents revised version of its proposal to their chartering members (Supporting Organizations and Advisory Councils) for review and adoption. |
8-25 Jun 2015 | ALAC, ccNSO, GAC and GNSO review and consider adoption of CWG-Stewardship’s revised proposal. |
19 Jun 2015 | The CCWG-Accountability meets for working session before ICANN 53. |
21-25 Jun 2015 | All ICANN communities and other parties interested in IANA meet during ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, and online via remote participation, to discuss the IANA stewardship transition in a number of cross-community as well as stakeholder-specific sessions. (See preliminary schedule). |
25 Jun 2015 | The CWG-Stewardship delivers the final proposal on the naming related portion of the IANAStewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG). |
20 Jul 2015 | The CCWG-Accountability publishes second, revised, version of draft report on Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements for public comment. |
29 Aug 2015 | Last day for community comments on the second draft of ICANN accountability enhancements (Work Stream 1). |
30 Sep-15 Oct 2015 | ALAC, ASO, ccNSO, GAC and GNSO review and consider adoption of CCWG-Accountability’s revised proposal. |
22 Oct 2015 | The CCWG-Accountability present Work Stream 1 accountability enhancements report to the ICANN Board. |
Updates on other transition-related activities
IETF Working Group on Planning for the IANA/NTIA Transition (IANAPLAN)
On 30 April, the chairs of IETF, IAOC and IAB notified members of IANAPLAN of the status of work between IETF and ICANN regarding the annual SLA or Supplemental Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IETF and ICANN in relation to IANA’s performance of the protocol parameters function. Following that notification, there was much discussion on the IANAPLAN mailing listabout the possible reasons behind ICANN’s communication to IETF that it believed that agreeing to the proposed text of the SLA would possibly put ICANN in breach of its existing agreement with the NTIA. The discussion was forwarded on to the CWG-Stewardship mailing list and, in response, ICANN clarifiedthat the concerns it had expressed were not related to the proposed stewardship model for the protocol parameters function of IANA after the expiration of ICANN’s contract with NTIA, but were specifically related to constraints that applied solely while the current contract with NTIA remained in place. ICANNexpressed it did not want to pre-empt or create a perception of pre-empting any of the community consensus process around any areas in the finalization of the transition. A further email was posted to the CCWG-Accountability list by a member of the ICANN Board containing more information on the MoU and the process IETF can invoke to terminate the agreement.
Consolidated RIR IANA Stewardship Proposal (CRISP) Team
As a result of the CRISP Team’s draft proposal for the numbers component of the IANA functions, the Number Resource Organization (NRO) has produced a Draft Service Level Agreement (SLA) for theIANA Numbering Services. The draft SLA, which has not been reviewed by the CRISP Team nor negotiated with any other parties, including ICANN, is available for comment until 14 June 2015. Comments received are archived on the NRO’s ianaxfer mailing list.
IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG)
The ICG has announced that it has published its final process for how it will handle comments sent by members of the community to the ICG forum. Comments may be directly submitted to the ICG any time via icg-forum@ianacg.org. In response to the SLA-related discussions described in the sections above, the ICG has posted a statement on its homepage that encourages all interested parties, including ICANNstaff and Board members, to participate within the open, transparent processes being used by the three operational communities to transition the stewardship of the IANA functions away from NTIA. Board Chair, Steve Crocker, issued a response. The ICG has also created Twitter and Facebook accounts to assist with disseminating information about their activities.
Transition timeline and implementation
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has written to the chairs of theICG and CCWG-Accountability requesting information on projected dates related to completing the transition proposal, as well as the estimated time to implement the transition, to assist the NTIA in planning for the transition. The NTIA has requested this information be communicated by the end of June.
U.S. Congressional Hearings
On 13 May, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing titled Stakeholder Perspectives on ICANN: The .Sucks Domain and Essential Steps to Guarantee Trust and Accountability in the Internet's Operation. ICANN submitted written testimony for the record.
Later that afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee held a separate hearing titled, Stakeholder Perspectives on the IANA Transition. ICANN also submitted written testimony for the record in that hearing.
Upcoming key dates
14 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #47, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
19 May 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Meeting #33, 6:00-8:00 UTC ICG Teleconference (TBC) CWG-Stewardship Meeting #48, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
21 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #49, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
26 May 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Meeting #34, 12:00-14:00 UTC CWG-Stewardship Meeting #50, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
28 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #51, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
28-29 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Intensive Working Days |
2 Jun 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #52, 17:00-19:00 UTC CCWG-Accountability Meeting #35, 19:00-21:00 UTC |
4 Jun 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #53, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
14 Jun 2015 | Deadline for comments to NRO on Draft Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the IANANumbering Services |
18-19 Jun 2015 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting, ICANN 53, Buenos Aires, all day |
19 Jun 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Working Session 1, ICANN 53, Buenos Aires, all day |
21-25 Jun 2015 | ICANN 53, Buenos Aires |
IANA stewardship in the news
You can play a role in IANA’s future…
Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA’s stewardship and ICANN accountability.For information on joining CWG-Stewardship, contact grace.abuhamad@icann.org. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.
Volume 4: April 24
CWG-Stewardship proposal now open for public comment
On 22 April, the Cross-Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) published its second draft proposal on the naming related portion of the IANA Stewardship Transition for 28 days of public comments. The final push to develop the draft included a two-day face-to-face meeting in Istanbul, 26-27 March, two days of High Intensity Meetings, 13-14 April, and a further six hours of teleconferences between 15 and 21 April. Thefirst version of the draft proposal was published for public comment on 1 December 2014.
Overview of the proposal
The draft proposal was developed in order to pave the way for a response (the Final Proposal) to theIANA Stewardship Coordination Group (ICG) request for proposals. This proposal is based on the premise that there is current satisfaction with ICANN's IANA department performance and that ICANN should remain the IANA Functions Operator. As a result, the CWG-Stewardship proposal includes six core elements, and several correlating actions to achieve those elements. To review the proposal, please visit the links below.
Key links
- Draft proposal – 35 pages [no annexes]
- Draft proposal & annexes – 90 pages
- Chairs' Foreword: “Towards a Final Proposal” [informational document on the history of the development of the draft proposal]
- Announcement of call for public comments
- (Optional) Public Comment Template [.doc | .pdf]
- Archive of public comments received
How to submit a public comment
Comment on the draft proposal, with or without annexes, by 20 May 2015, 23:59 UTC (convert to your time zone):
- Use the optional template to organize your comments, and fill in as many or few sections of the template as you need.
OR
Send comments in a format of your choosing (Note, however, that use of the template will assist CWG-Stewardship in analyzing and comparing community responses to the draft proposal).
- Send your comments, attaching the completed template if you have used it, to:
comments-cwg-stewardship-draft-proposal-22apr15@icann.org
- When you receive an automatically generated email asking you to confirm your submission, please follow the instructions in the email to ensure your comments are submitted to the archive of public comments.
To help better understand the contents and context of the draft proposal, you may wish to join one of thetwo following webinars live:
- 24 April from 06:00 – 07:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
- 24 April from 14:00 – 15:30 UTC (time zone converter here)
The webinars will also be transcribed and published from this CWG-Stewardship webpage in the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
What happens following the publication of the second draft names proposal
Below is a summary of upcoming key meetings and processes specifically related to the naming related portion of the IANA Stewardship Transition proposal. A list of dates associated with a wider range of stewardship transition related activities is included near the end of this report.
22 Apr-20 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship suspends further drafting on the proposal. |
20-31 May 2015 | ICANN staff compiles a report of the public comments received. |
30-31 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship meets for an Intensive Work Weekend based on feedback from the public comment period. |
1 Jun 2015 | ICANN publishes report of public comments on the CWG-Stewardship's second draft proposal. |
8 Jun 2015 | CWG-Stewardship presents revised version of the proposal to its chartering members (Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees) for review and adoption. |
8-25 Jun 2015 | ALAC, ccNSO, GAC and GNSO review and consider adoption of CWG-Stewardship's revised proposal. |
21-25 Jun 2015 | All ICANN communities and other parties interested in the IANA Stewardship Transition meet during ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, and online via remote participation, to discuss the IANA Stewardship Transition in a number of cross-community as well as stakeholder-specific sessions. (See preliminary schedule). |
25 Jun 2015 | CWG-Stewardship delivers the final proposal on the naming related portion of the IANAStewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG). |
Updates on other transition-related activities
IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG)
In the interest of a more expedient review, the ICG may begin its evaluation of the CWG-Stewardship's proposal before it formally receives the proposal from the CWG-Stewardship on 25 June 2015. The ICGdoes not plan to make any formal decisions about the CWG-Stewardship proposal during ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, but will be holding a two-day face-to-face meeting on 18-19 June prior to the meeting.
Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability)
On 15 April, the CCWG-Accountability was contacted by the CWG-Stewardship Chairs to reinforce how important the CWG considers the CCWG's Work Stream 1 activities to its own work on the naming-related portion of the IANA Stewardship Transition proposal. The two groups have been coordinating closely and all the CWG's priorities are already on the CCWG's list of key deliverables. Although the CCWG-Accountability decided on a packed calendar of teleconferences to complete its Work Stream 1 activities in time for CWG-Stewardship's own work during its Istanbul meeting, there was robust discussion on the CCWG-Accountability's mailing list about whether the planned series of teleconferences was too ambitious and time consuming for participants, and the CCWG-Accountability decided to proceed with the call schedule. The structure of the CCWG-Accountability's draft report, with links to section that have been drafted to date, is available. A public comment period is anticipated to launch at the beginning of May.
U.S. Senate hearings
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
On 13 April 2015, ICANN published responses to Questions for the Record received from members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation following the hearing, Preserving the Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance. The hearing focused on the IANA Stewardship Transition and the changes to ICANN accountability needed to facilitate that transition. The follow-up questions were related to ICANN accountability, the role of the community in ICANN policy and decision-making, ICANN's jurisdiction in relation to the Affirmation of Commitments, a specific new gTLDapplication, and the role of ICANN in regard to how registrars and registries deter illegal activity in domain names under their management. ICANN also published a response to a separate Question for the Record from Senator Klobuchar about stress testing the accountability proposals.
Upcoming key dates
Note: The ICG does not plan to hold regular teleconferences during May 2015.
23 Apr 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Intensive Working Day 1, 4:00-6:00; 11:00-12:00; 19:00-22:00 UTC |
24 Apr 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Intensive Working Day 2, 8:00-10:00; 13:00-14:00; 16:00-19:00 UTC |
30 Apr 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #43, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
5 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #44, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
7 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #45, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
12 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #46, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
14 May 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #47, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
18-19 Jun 2015 | ICG Face-to-Face Meeting, ICANN 53, Buenos Aires, all day |
21-25 Jun 2015 | ICANN 53, Buenos Aires |
Latest documents and drafts
IANA stewardship in the news
You can play a role in IANA's future…
Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA's stewardship and ICANN accountability. For information on joining CWG-Stewardship, contact grace.abuhamad@icann.org. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.
Compiled on behalf of ICANN by Samantha Dickinson 24 April 2015
This update can also be found here: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/iana-stewardship-discussion-2015-04-24-en
Volume 3: March 31
ICANN is compiling bi-weekly updates on the community discussions and progress of the IANAStewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability Processes. This information is positioned to help inform interested stakeholders in the recent developments in the processes, upcoming key dates, latest documents and drafts and a snapshot of any news coverage that occurs over the timeframe.
In brief
- The Cross-Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) and Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) held face-to-face meetings in Istanbul, Turkey, during the week of 23 March 2015 with a common goal: the successful transition of theIANA functions stewardship to the global multistakeholder community.
- Both CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability plan to make draft proposals available for Public Comment in the lead-up to ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires, 21-25 June 2015.
- As work on the IANA Stewardship Transition continues to build momentum, a number of communities are beginning to submit formal statements and recommendations to the CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability.
An overview of CCWG-Accountability and CWG-Stewardship meetings
- The Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability)met in Istanbul on 23 and 24 March. There were 57 CCWG participants – 42 onsite and 15 using remote participation tools, three advisors to the CCWG and two representatives from Sidley Austin, one of the two legal firms engaged by CCWG-Accountability.
- CWG-Stewardship met on 26 and 27 March, with 43 onsite and remote CWG participants, including 18 who had participated in the CWG-Accountability meeting earlier in the week. Sidley Austin was represented, as they were also engaged to provide legal advice to CWG-Stewardship.
- On 25 March, the Co-Chairs of both groups met to discuss the progress, objectives of their work, and how the groups could help inform each other's work.
- In addition to the archived notes, transcripts and recordings of both meetings, the Co-Chairs of both groups published Statements regarding the meetings:
- ICANN published video interviews with CCWG Co-Chair, Thomas Rickert, and with the CWG Co-Chairs.
CCWG-Accountability progress in Istanbul
ICANN Mission, Vision and Value statement
- There was general agreement that ICANN's commitment to its core values, as stated in its Bylaws, needed strengthening.
- There was recognition that after the IANA Stewardship Transition occurs, the accountability and transparency mechanisms provided by the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) between ICANN and the U.S. Government should be brought into ICANN's Bylaws. The group discussed the need to rewrite some of the original AoC text, rather than incorporate it as a single unchanged block, noting it would be important to raise community awareness of the rewriting process of this key commitment between ICANN and the global community.
Empowering the community
- The group discussed new mechanisms to empower the community in ICANN's decision-making processes. In particular, there was general convergence on the need to enable the community to:
- Recall (or "spill") ICANN's Board of Directors
- Approve or prevent changes to ICANN's Bylaws, Mission and Core Values
- Reject Board decisions on ICANN's Strategic Plan and budget (where the Board has failed to appropriately consider community input)
- It was recognized that, while it was clearly important that the ICANN Board be accountable to the community, it was also essential for the community itself to meet high standards of accountability.
Introducing Fundamental ("Golden") Bylaws
- The CCWG-Accountability proposed to introduce Fundamental Bylaws (previously referred to as "Golden" Bylaws), in ICANN's revised Bylaws that would add additional robustness to key provisions. These Fundamental Bylaws should be changeable, but any change should require a very high standard of community approval.
- Four key topics were proposed as potential new Fundamental Bylaws:
- ICANN's Mission (some provisions also identified for possible elevation to ICANN's Articles of Incorporation)
- Enhanced Independent Review Process
- The power to veto Bylaw changes
- New community powers ("Empowering the community" above)
Independent Review Process
- There was general agreement to enhance ICANN's existing Independent Review Process [PDF, 74 KB] rather than create a new process. Possible enhancements include making the process more accessible and affordable and having a standing panel (to help with consistency of decision making) that produces binding outcomes. ICANN's Mission and Core Values would guide the decisions.
General discussion
- There was debate about the accountability mechanisms to be proposed as Work Stream 1 –ICANN accountability processes that need to be in place or agreed to before the IANAStewardship Transition can occur – and broad agreement to continue developing proposals on six core themes:
- Revisions to the mission, commitments and core values
- Enhancement of the independent review process
- Establishing fundamental bylaws
- Mechanisms for community empowerment
- Transcription of the AoC provisions and reviews into the Bylaws
- Enhancements to reconsideration processes
What comes next?
- All recommendations by CCWG-Accountability will be subjected to stress tests against contingencies already identified by the group.
- The CCWG-Accountability will refine its recommendations and expects to put its draft out for public comment within the next few weeks. Based on input from the wider community, the CCWG-Accountability expects to hold further deliberations during ICANN 53.
- Given the potential significant impact to ICANN and the global community of the proposals CCWG-Accountability is considering, the group is discussing the need to hold dual public comment processes, to ensure its recommendations are given the broadest consideration by the community.
CWG-Stewardship comes closer to converging on a single solution in Istanbul
Reducing the possible number of potential structures/models on the table
- Entering the meeting, the CWG-Stewardship was considering seven possible models of what a post-NTIA IANA stewardship could look like: two external solutions (Contract Co. and Trust); two internal solutions (Accountability mechanisms and Trust); and three hybrid/integrated models (IANA subsidiary/ "affiliate" of ICANN, IANA shared services agreements and Standalone IANAentity). Following preliminary legal advice presented by Sidley Austin [PPTX, 853 KB] and subsequent discussion amongst CWG-Stewardship members of the pros and cons of the different models, there was agreement to actively investigate the following two models: Accountability mechanisms with functional separation and Accountability mechanisms with legal separation (also called the IANA subsidiary or "affiliate" of ICANN).
- The remaining five models were not entirely dismissed and could be revived if either or both of the above models prove inadequate.
Design Teams
- Eight of the proposed fourteen Design Teams had been active before the Istanbul meeting, with a fifteenth, on the IANA budget, being added on the final day of the meeting. The Design Teams reported back to the group on their progress. Detailed information on the Design Teams and their activities can be found in the documents marked "DT." A summary of the status of the Design Teams as of 27 March is available on Slide seven. [PDF, 1.2 MB]
What comes next?
- Design Teams aim to complete their work by 10 April for review by CWG-Stewardship. Accepted work will be inserted in the appropriate section of the draft names proposal.
- CWG-Stewardship has revised its upcoming timeline slightly and extended the Public Comment period for its draft proposal from 21 to 30 days. See "Upcoming Key Dates" below.
- Three versions of the group's final proposal will be developed. One version will be submitted to theIANA Stewardship Coordination Group (ICG) for consideration. A second, more detailed version will explain the reasoning behind choices in the proposal and provide more information about the implementation of the post-NTIA model for the names component of IANA stewardship. A third, short version, produced with the assistance of ICANN communications staff, will be made available as a summary for members of the community not involved with the process on a day-to-day level.
Inter-community correspondence
- On 19 March, a group of registries submitted a guidance document [PDF, 99 KB] to CWG-Stewardship aimed at delivering the most minimal, simple and lightweight structures possible while meeting the needs of stakeholders and avoiding the creation of new, unnecessary structures and complexities.
- On 22 March, the Consolidated RIR IANA Stewardship Proposal (CRISP) Team Co-Chairsrequested that the CWG-Stewardship Co-Chairs communicate with them directly and in a timely manner on developments that might affect the Numbers community, and not wait for the final submission of the names proposal to the ICG.
- Also on 22 March, the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) submitted a statement [DOCX, 34 KB] to CWG-Stewardship. Among other issues, the statement recommended: avoid creating new accountability concerns by minimizing the creation of new structures; identifying processes for improvements to the performance of the IANA functions and oversight structures; and identifying stable funding streams for the IANA functions from fees paid to ICANN by gTLDs and ccTLDs.
- On 26 March, the Country Code Name Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Council Chairs wrote[PDF, 52 KB] to the CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability Co-Chairs to report that theccNSO intended to have the IANA and accountability proposals presented at the next face-to-face meeting of the ccNSO at ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires and, if the ccTLDs present at the meeting express support for the proposals, the ccNSO Council would then make a decision on whether to adopt the proposals. Therefore, the earliest the ccNSO could make a decision is 21-25 June 2015.
- On 26 March, a German position paper [PDF, 26 KB] on the IANA Stewardship Transition, developed via a multistakeholder process and backed by the German government, was sent to the CWG-Stewardship Co-Chairs. Among its recommendations, the paper suggests that there must be binding rules implemented that protect ICANN and the IANA functions from possible threats toICANN's existence (such as insolvency) before the transition occurs. The paper also recommends it should remain possible to separate the technical execution of the IANA functions from ICANN.
- On 26 March, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested a teleconference with the Co-Chairs of the CCWG-Accountability on 7 or 8 April 2015. GAO is reviewing NTIA's proposed transition of IANA Stewardship in response to a request by the Chairs of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Communications and Technology Subcommittee.
Upcoming key dates
Latest documents and drafts
IANA Stewardship Transition in the news
You can play a role in IANA's future…
Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA's stewardship and ICANN accountability. For information on joining CWG-Stewardship, contact grace.abuhamad@icann.org. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.
Compiled on behalf of ICANN by Samantha Dickinson | 31 March 2015
This update can also be found here: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/iana-stewardship-discussion-2015-03-31-en
Volume 2: March 17
ICANN is compiling bi-weekly updates on the community discussions and progress of the IANAStewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability Processes. This information is positioned to help inform interested stakeholders in the recent developments in the processes, upcoming key dates, latest documents and drafts and a snapshot of any news coverage that occurs over the timeframe.
This page is also available in:
In brief
- The protocol parameters and numbers proposals submitted to the ICG in January 2015 have moved into Step 2 of the Proposal Assembly and Finalization Process [PDF, 92 KB].
- The work in the CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability have intensified, and both have activated a number of specialized teams focusing on specific issues.
- CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability will hold face-to-face meetings in Istanbul at the end of March.
- U.S. Senate Committees have questioned witnesses about the IANA Stewardship Transition and its implications for a variety of domestic and international issues.
ICG
- The IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) is now using a website independent ofICANN: http://www.ianacg.org. (Note that ICANN, as convener and facilitator of the IANAStewardship Transition process, will continue to provide information on the transition, as well as the Enhancing ICANN Accountability process, on its website, https://www.icann.org.)
- The ICG is planning to hold a face-to-face meeting 18-19 June in Buenos Aires before ICANN 53. If necessary, the ICG may also meet on the morning of 20 June.
Timeline of work:
- Following discussions at ICANN 52 in Singapore about the possibility of extending the ICG timeline for finalizing the IANA Stewardship Transition proposal, the ICG has decided to proceed as much as possible with the protocol parameters and numbers proposals and revisit the timeline in the future once there is clearer information on how much work the names proposal requires of the ICGand the wider community.
- With regard to the protocol parameters and numbers proposals, the ICG has moved forward into Step 2 of its Proposal Assembly and Finalization Process [PDF, 92 KB]. Step 2 examines the compatibility and interoperability, accountability, and workability of the submitted proposals.
Additional output of the ICG:
- At its 25 February teleconference, in addition to the final consolidated proposal to be submitted to the ICANN Board for transmission to the NTIA, ICG members decided to also produce a report of the information it collects during its work to ensure the three components of the stewardship proposal – protocol parameters, numbers and names – are not in conflict.
CWG-Stewardship
- The pace of work in the Cross-Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) is increasing as the CWG-Stewardship enters a new phase of work using "Design Teams." In addition, the CWG-Stewardship will hold a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul, 26-27 March 2015. As of 9 March, 18 CWG-Stewardship members and 15 participants have confirmed onsite attendance for the meeting.
Updated draft proposal:
A new way of working:
- CWG-Stewardship has introduced a new way of working on the names proposal: small groups of CWG-Stewardship members are to form "Design Teams" that each work on a very specific issue related to the names proposal. The aim is for each Design Team to deliver the results of its work back to the CWG-Stewardship for its consideration and action within two weeks of the Design Team's creation. Approved Design Teams will maintain publicly archived mailing lists of their communications. As of 5 March, there were 11 proposed Design Teams.
Legal counsel:
- CWG-Stewardship's "Client Committee" has selected Sidley Austin LLP as legal counsel to the CWG-Stewardship. Sidley Austin will provide legal advice and consultation to the CWG-Stewardship as they develop their proposal.
CCWG-Accountability
- The work of the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) continues to gather speed with the formation of three new Work Parties (see "New Work Parties underway" below). The CCWG-Accountability will meet face-to-face in Istanbul, 23-24 March 2015, just prior to the CWG-Stewardship's face-to-face meeting at the same location.
- The expected outcome of the Istanbul meeting is broad consensus on the work stream 1 mechanisms CCWG-Accountability will propose for public comment, launch date of 6 April 2015.
New Work Parties underway:
- WP1, Community Empowerment, has developed drafts of a number of accountability mechanismsbased on a standardized template. Mechanisms under investigation include how to mitigate against ICANN or NTIA choosing to terminate the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC). The outcome of which would be ICANN no longer being held to its Affirmation Commitments, including the conduct of community reviews and required implementation of review team recommendations.
- WP2, Review and Redress, held its first teleconference on 27 February 2015. It has created four specialized sub teams: Community Compact regarding ICANN Mission, Office of Ombudsman,Request for Reconsideration, and Independent Review. WP2 plans to have all current drafting work completed by 19 March 2015, in time for the CCWG-Accountability's Istanbul face-to-face meeting.
- The Stress Test Work Party (ST-WP) will hold its first teleconference on 11 March 2015. Its work has led on from one of the four original sub-groups of the CCWG-Accountability, on Identifying Contingencies, and is using that original sub-group's mailing list to conduct its work. The latest version of the document that is the focus of ST-WP's activities, Using Stress Tests to evaluate existing & proposed accountability measures (v7), was posted to the mailing list on 7 March 2015.
Legal counsel:
- The CCWG-Accountability's Legal Sub Team has been working on a draft document outlining the issues it wishes to ask of legal counsel (see also "Legal counsel" in the CWG-Stewardship section above). The CCWG-Accountability hopes to use the same firm as chosen by CWG-Stewardship, but remains open to the possibility of choosing a different legal counsel if the CWG-Stewardship's choice proves not to be the most appropriate one for CCWG-Accountability.
Updates on other transition-related activities
US Senate hearings:
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
On 25 February, a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation hearing,Preserving the Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance, focused on the IANA Stewardship Transition and the changes to ICANN's accountability needed to facilitate that transition. There were three witnesses before the hearing: Lawrence Strickling, NTIA Administrator, ICANNPresident and CEO Fadi Chehadé and U.S. Ambassador David Gross on behalf of the Internet Governance Coalition. The witnesses were asked about the relationship of the IANA stewardship transition to a variety of issues, including intellectual property rights, net neutrality, human rights online, openness and innovation, international diplomacy and U.S. security.
Senate Committee On Appropriations, Subcommittee On Commerce, Justice, Science, And Related Agencies
On 27 February, during the Subcommittee's hearing, Financial Year 2016 Department of Commerce Budget, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker was asked why there was a need to remove the U.S. Government from the IANA stewardship role. The webcast can be viewed here.
Upcoming key dates
Latest documents and drafts
IANA Stewardship Transition in the news
You can play a role …
Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA's stewardship and ICANN accountability.For information on joining CWG-Stewardship, contact grace.abuhamad@icann.org. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.
This update can also be found here: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/iana-stewardship-discussion-2015-03-17-en
Compiled on behalf of ICANN by Samantha Dickinson | 17 March 2015
Volume 1: February 23
ICANN is compiling bi-weekly updates on the community discussions and progress of the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability Processes. This information is positioned to help inform interested stakeholders in the recent developments in the processes, upcoming key dates, latest documents and drafts and a snapshot of any news coverage that occurs over the timeframe.
This page is also available in:
An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions
ICANN 52
During ICANN 52 in Singapore, between 6 and 12 February, more than 41 hours were spent on discussions around the IANA stewardship transition and related ICANN accountability processes. The discussions consisted of:
- Community-wide information and question and answer sessions
- Public working sessions by:
- IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG)
- Cross-Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG Stewardship)
- Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG Accountability).
- Stakeholder-specific discussions within individual Supporting Organizations, including many of the component constituencies of the GNSO, and within the Advisory Committees.
The community-wide sessions provided online participation mechanisms and were webcast and transcribed live. Transcripts and audio of all sessions, including those not transcribed live, are now available online.
The following is a summary of transition and accountability-related discussions at ICANN 52.
Clarifications from NTIA:
- NTIA reiterated that although the current IANA contract expires 30 September 2015, that is not a deadline for the transition but a target date. The transition can occur whenever the multistakeholder community develops a plan both it and NTIA can accept.
- NTIA expects a single proposal for the IANA stewardship transition.
- NTIA does not expect any dissenting opinions to accompany the final proposal.
- NTIA expects the IANA-related accountability mechanisms being developed through Work Stream 1 of CCWG Accountability to be submitted at the same time as the ICG proposal.
- Although the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 [PDF, 3.44 MB] prohibits NTIA from spending any money to relinquish the contract through 30 September 2015, this does not prevent the NTIA from providing informal feedback when asked questions by the community nor does it prevent the community's ability to continue developing a proposal for the transition.
Key ICG updates and discussions:
- The ICG discussed the progress of the review of the protocol parameters and numbers community proposals the group had received, resolving a number of questions ICG members had had about both proposals. There was discussion about how to handle public comments on the names proposal, once submitted, due to concerns that the proposal could attract significant numbers of public comments and that it might not be practical to forward each individual comment to the CWG Stewardship for its consideration.
- There were discussions about the effect that the extended timeline for the CWG Stewardship proposal would have on the ICG's final proposal, with agreement to review the ICG's current timeline based on more detailed review of the work that can be completed independent of the names proposal. It was noted that, as many members of the ICG were following the CWG Stewardship work, much of the ICG's work on the names proposal could take place before the final CWG proposal was formally delivered to the ICG.
CWG Stewardship and CCWG Accountability:
- The two groups confirmed they were planning to use the same legal counsel for advice on the legal viability of proposal ideas under discussion. Although ICANN would pay for the legal advice, the clients would be the CWG and CCWG, not ICANN.
- Recognizing the interdependent and interrelated nature of the two groups, the Chairs of both groups are also in regular contact to ensure close coordination between the two processes.
Key CWG Stewardship updates and discussions:
- A final version of a Discussion Document [PDF, 447 KB] was published on 3 February to bring the wider community up to date on its work and encourage further community input.
- The CWG Stewardship explained that the reasons the names component of the IANA stewardship proposal was taking longer than the numbers and protocol parameters components was due to the complexity of the names communities. CWG members were meeting very regularly – sometimes daily – to progress the work of the group.
- The CWG Stewardship clarified that although there were still significant differences of opinion about the two main models on the table – "external" trust (oversight of IANA exists outside ICANN) versus "internal" trust (ICANN performs IANA stewardship function, with possibly a "golden bylaw" to ensure ICANN can be held accountable to community) – the vast majority of issues under discussion in the CWG were enjoying significant consensus. The CWG hoped that after it received legal advice on the external and internal options under discussion, some of the current proposal options could be found to be unviable and reduce the number of options from which the CWG needed to choose.
Key CCWG Accountability updates and discussions:
- Work Stream 1, which is examining the accountability mechanisms that must be in place or committed to within the timeframe of the IANA stewardship transition, has formed two Working Parties (WP): WP 1 is examining how the community can be empowered to hold the ICANN Board accountable while WP 2 is examining possible review and redress processes. There was a suggestion to clarify which accountability mechanisms in Work Stream 1 were "triggered" (by a specific action or non-action by ICANN) or "non-triggered" (part of regular ICANN processes).
Governmental Advisory Committee:
- In its Singapore Communiqué [PDF, 113 KB], the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee(GAC) committed to continue working with the CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability both through individual GAC members and through the designated GAC representatives to both groups. The GAC also noted that the IANA stewardship process would have the highest priority for the GAC's intersessional work in the lead-up to ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires.
More detailed information about post-ICANN 52 work in the ICG, CWG-Stewardship, and CCWG-Accountability will follow in the next update.
Updates on other transition-related activities
ICANN Board
On 12 February, a short statement from the ICANN Board was published. The key section of the statement is included below:
"ICANN is expecting to receive both proposals [from the ICG and CCWG Accountability] at roughly the same time. When ICANN receives these proposals, we will forward them promptly and without modification to NTIA. As we have previously stated, if we do submit the proposals with an accompanying communication of comments, they will be on points we had already shared with the community during the development of the proposals. […] With respect to improvements in our accountability, we are definitely open to improvements."
Internet Society (ISOC)
At its 15 February meeting, the ISOC Board stressed that "successful transition will reinforce the value of the collaborative, multistakeholder model", with the Board Chair noting that the process "is a true reflection of the power of the multistakeholder approach to bring parties together to solve complex problems".
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
During the ITU's Member States-only Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues (CWG-Internet), 2-3 February, one Member State proposed including theIANA stewardship transition as a topic for open consultations preceding the CWG-Internet's next meeting in October, with the aim of CWG-Internet providing input into the IANA stewardship process. There was support from some States at the meeting to hold such a consultation while others were opposed. Therefore, the topic will not proceed to public consultation. However, supporting States indicated they might suggest the IANA stewardship transition as a topic again at the October meeting for the CWG-Internet's subsequent open consultation.
Upcoming key dates
| 24 Feb 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #23, 17:00-19:00
CCWG-Accountability meeting #14, 19:00-21:00 UTC |
| 25 Feb 2015 | ICG Call #12, 4:00-5:30 UTC
Preserving the Multistakeholder Model of Internet Governance – US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation hearing on IANAstewardship, 15:00 UTC |
| 26 Feb 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #24, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
| 3 Mar 2015 | CCWG-Accountability meeting #15, 12:00-14:00 UTC
CWG-Stewardship Meeting #25, 17:00-19:00 UTC |
| 4 Mar 2015 | Update on the IANA Stewardship Transition Process – ISOC webinar 14:00 UTC |
| 5 Mar 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Meeting #26, 11:00-13:00 UTC |
| 23-24 Mar 2015 | CCWG-Accountability Face-to-Face meeting. Details to be confirmed. |
| 26-27 Mar 2015 | CWG-Stewardship Face-to-Face meeting. Details to be confirmed. |
Latest documents and drafts
IANA stewardship in the news
You can play a role in IANA's future…
Anyone can participate in discussions about the future of IANA's stewardship and ICANN accountability. For information on joining CWG-Stewardship, contact grace.abuhamad@icann.org. For information on joining CCWG-Accountability, contact accountability-staff@icann.org.
This update can also be found here: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/iana-stewardship-discussion-2015-02-24-en
Compiled on behalf of ICANN by Samantha Dickinson | 23 February 2015