[ga] Re: [Politech] PFF's Bill Atkinson: ICANN is "out of control, " VeriSign harmed

[Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Declan and all,

  It has been obvious sense MDR 2000 that ICANN was out of control.

Declan McCullagh wrote:

> While it is true that PFF gets money from VeriSign, it also may be
> true that ICANN is no angel and that its regulatory views have been
> suffering from creeping featurism. Bill's criticisms of ICANN seem to
> have some grounding in reality; unfortunately, he didn't address the
> (valid) criticisms of SiteFinder too.
>
> -Declan
>
> ---
>
> http://www.pff.org/weblog/archive/2004_08_01_archive.html#109389785619869051
>
> VeriSign v. ICANN
>
> ICANN's interference with VeriSign's introduction of new domain name
> system (DNS) services has been a source of tension for years. It came
> to a head in February when VeriSign filed a seven-count lawsuit
> against ICANN, alleging that ICANNprovisions of ICANNte court where
> the remaining claims can be tried. He held that VeriSign's detailed
> allegations that competitors had captured ICANN's decision-making
> process were insufficient to establish an antitrust conspiracy, since
> VeriSign failed to allege facts establishing that competitors
> "controlled" or "dominated" ICANN's board.
>
> I recently wrote a paper arguing that ICANN's regulatory excesses
> stifle innovation in domain name services, and that reliance on
> competition, rather than regulation by ICANN, would best serve
> consumers. Matz takes a rather narrow view of the corporate
> decision-making process, especially in light of the specific evidence
> of competitors' key role in many of ICANN's decisions, and even a
> statement by former ICANN president Stuart Lynn that ICANN's process
> was "too exposed to capture by special interests" (Judge Matz
> dismissed this by observing that Lynn had not actually "admitted" that
> the Board had been captured). But an antitrust claim is admittedly a
> blunt instrument for curbingICANN's abuses. Press reports indicate
> that VeriSign will not appeal this decision (which would add further
> to the delay in introducing new services), but rather will pursue its
> state law claims.
>
> As VeriSign's complaint and numerous critiques confirm, ICANN is out
> of control. It was created to promote competition in domain name
> services (DNS), given a very narrow regulatory mandate, and directed
> to meet basic standards of fair and open decision-making. It has
> adopted an increasingly expansive view of its regulatory mandate while
> providing virtually no procedural protections to affected parties. And
> its processes are clearly subject to capture. As a result, ICANN is
> delaying indefinitely the introduction of beneficial services.
>
> Fortunately, Judge Matz's decision leaves VeriSign free to enforce
> ICANN's obligations under the Registry Agreement and related
> obligations in state court. ICANN's position clearly raises risks of
> regulatory abuse. But the Registry Agreement also contains provisions
> designed to prevent regulatory abuse by limiting ICANN's power and
> restricting the manner in which it can be exercised. ICANN should be
> strictly held to the letter and spirit of these protections.
>
> - posted by Bill Adkinson @ 8/30/2004 04:19:24 PM
> _______________________________________________
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> Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)

Regards,

--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
    Pierre Abelard

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
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