Webinar: ICANN Participation in the Internet Governance Forum

You are invited to participate in an informal webinar about ICANN ‘s participation in the Internet Governance Forum ( IGF ) on Friday, 22 August at 16:00 UTC.

The webinar will provide a brief overview of the ICANN related sessions at the IGF in Istanbul from 1-5 September, and will provide an opportunity for members of the community and staff to discuss collaboration opportunities.

Agenda

Introduction – Sally Costerton
Purpose of ICANN ‘s participation in IGF – Tarek Kamel
Overview of ICANN related activities at the Istanbul IGF – Baher Esmat
Collaboration opportunities at the IGF
Q&A

Webinar Details

Date: Friday, 22 August 2014
Time: 16:00 UTC (Time zone conversions can be found here: ow.ly/ArlQl)
Adobe Connect: https://icann.adobeconnect.com/gseadmin/
Adigo phone information:

US Access Number: 213 233 3193
US Toll Free Access Number: 800 550 6865

Conference ID: 298475
International Adigo phone numbers: adigo.com/icann/

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-08-18-en

ICANN Public Comment: Proposed Bylaws Changes Regarding Consideration of GAC Advice

Brief Overview: ICANN is posting for public comment proposed Bylaws revisions that would incorporate a higher voting threshold for the Board to determine not to follow the advice of the Governmental Advisory Committee. Currently, the Bylaws require a simple majority of the Board (50% + 1) to vote to not follow a piece of advice from the GAC . The proposed amendments to the Bylaws would require 2/3 of the voting members of the Board to vote to act inconsistently with a piece of GAC advice.

Comment Period: 15 Aug 2014 – 14 Sep 2014 23:59 UTC

Reply Period: 15 Sep 2014 – 6 Oct 2014 23:59 UTC

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose

The Governmental Advisory Committee ( GAC ) considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN ‘s policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues. The ICANN Bylaws require formal determination by the Board that it is taking action inconsistent with GAC advice, if that were to ever occur. Pursuant to the Bylaws, a simple majority of the Board (50%+1) is required to make this determination.

The Bylaws also specify that the Board and the GAC must have a consultation regarding the Board’s intention to act inconsistently with GAC advice. The first ICANN Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT1), recommended the formalization of that consultation process. Members of the ICANN Board, together with the GAC , formed a Board- GAC Recommendations Implementation Working Group (BGRI), which developed a formalized process that included the raising of the voting threshold to 2/3 of the voting members. Though a Bylaws change is required to give full effect to this formalized process, the ICANN Board previously indicated that the higher voting threshold would be applied in the event ICANN determined act inconsistently with GAC advice prior to the posting for and consideration of public comments on the required Bylaws revisions. The second Accountability and Review Team (ATRT2) recommended for the completion of the Bylaws revision process. At its meeting in June 2014, the BGRI determined that it was timely to send these proposed revisions to the Board for consideration, and on 30 July 2014 the Board approved this public comment posting.

The proposed Bylaws revisions posted here for comment give effect to the higher voting threshold set out in the formalized process.

Section II: Background

Section III: Relevant Resources

The proposed revisions to the ICANN Bylaws are available here [PDF, 487 KB].

The formalized Process for Consultation between the ICANN Board of Directors (“Board”) and the Governmental Advisory Committee (” GAC “), including those required pursuant to Article XI Section 2.1.j of the ICANN Bylaws [WORD, 41 KB] sets out the full consultation process as accepted by the BGRI in April 2013.

This ICANN public comment announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/public-comments/bylaws-amend-gac-advice-2014-08-15-en

ICANN: Bulk Transfer of Names from IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd to Above.com Pty Ltd.

ICANN has authorized the bulk transfer of gTLD domain names from IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd to Above.com Pty Ltd. due to the non-renewal of IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement ( RAA ).

The affected gTLD registries have processed the bulk transfers. Former registrant-customers of IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd should receive notices from Above.com Pty Ltd. advising of the transfer. Customer questions about the transfer should be directed to Above.com Pty Ltd. (for contact details see www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-940.html or visit the website directly at www.above.com/). Additional information about these bulk transfers is provided below.

FAQs

Q. Why were these transfers authorized by ICANN ?

A. The RAA of IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd was not renewed. IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd’s RAA terminated on 9 July 2014.

As a result, IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd is no longer permitted to register or manage gTLD registrations. ICANN authorized bulk transfers pursuant to the Inter- Registrar Transfer Policy to ensure that the registrant-customers of this registrar would not be harmed by their registrar’s discontinued ability to manage the registrations.

Q. How was the gaining registrar selected?

A. ICANN followed its De-Accredited Registrar Transition Procedure (see http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registrars/drt/dartp-11jul13-en.pdf [PDF, 129 KB]) to identify a gaining registrar for the gTLD names formerly managed by the de-accredited registrar. Through this process, Above.com Pty Ltd. was identified.

Q. Will Above.com Pty Ltd. attempt to contact the affected registrants? What should customers of this de-accredited registrar do now?

A. Former customers of IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd should receive a notice of the transfer and instructions for continued management of their names from Above.com Pty Ltd. Affected customers who do not receive notices from Above.com Pty Ltd. should contact Above.com Pty Ltd. by using the contact information provided at http://www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-940.html.

Q. Do registrants have to pay a fee for the bulk transfer?

A. No, there is no cost to registrants for the bulk transfer. Unlike a normal inter-registrar transfer, the registration terms will not be extended by a year. Accordingly, it is important to contact Above.com Pty Ltd. if your registration will expire soon in order to maintain your registration.

Q. What if affected registrants want to select a different registrar?

A. Registrants will continue to be able to transfer their registrations to other registrars under the Inter- Registrar Transfer Policy (see http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/). Note that Above.com Pty Ltd. may deny transfers for the first 60 days following the bulk transfer, at its discretion. This 60-day period is permissible under the Inter- Registrar Transfer Policy and is intended to help protect registrants. The registrant may need to renew names that will expire during the first 60 days following the transfer to Above.com Pty Ltd. by using the details provided above.

Q. How will IPXcess.com Sdn Bhd customers know if a message purportedly from Above.com Pty Ltd. is legitimate?

A. The message from Above.com Pty Ltd. should direct you to its website or refer you to other contact information provided above. For general advice about avoiding phishing email messages, you may also wish to refer to the materials prepared by the Anti- Phishing Working Group (see www.antiphishing.org/resources/overview/avoid-phishing-scams).

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-08-14-en

ICANN: Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance – Process and Next Steps

ICANN today published Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance – Process and Next Steps, a document that describes the process to examine how, from an organizational perspective, ICANN ‘s accountability mechanisms should be strengthened to address the absence of its historical relationship with the US Government including looking at strengthening existing accountability mechanisms.

On 14 March 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ( NTIA ) announced its intention to transition its stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority to the global stakeholder community, which would end its contractual relationship with ICANN that has existed since 1998. That historical relationship has been perceived as a backstop with regard to ICANN ‘s organization-wide accountability.

Last spring, when the community began its initial discussions on the task of transitioning NTIA ‘s stewardship of the IANA Functions, the community raised the broader topic of the impact of the change on ICANN ‘s accountability. What emerged was a commitment to launch a second process – parallel but interrelated with the IANA stewardship transition process – to do this work.

During an extended public comment period from the beginning of May to the end of June, we received 49 comments, with a majority discussing the more substantive aspects of accountability, while some focused on the design of the review process itself.

We took those comments relating to the development of the process, along with those from the community dialogues at the ICANN 50 meeting in London, and developed the accountability review process published today. The comments provided on issues for consideration for enhancements to ICANN accountability, or proposed solutions, are provided in a separate document for consideration by the community groups performing the work on Enhancing ICANN accountability.

An important attribute of the IANA Stewardship Transition process and this ICANN Accountability & Governance Review process is that the work of each completes in time to meet the expectations of the IANA Functions Contract ending in September 2015.

The Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance Process and Next Steps document can be found here [PDF, 131 KB].

An infographic providing a visual display of the proposed process can be found here [PDF, 926 KB].

A Summary Report of Public Comments received on the proposed process can be found here [PDF, 414 KB].

Comments provided on issues for consideration for enhancements to ICANN accountability are found here [PDF, 69 KB], on proposed solutions here [PDF, 128 KB] and all public comments received can be found here.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-08-14-en

ICANN: CPE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Updated

ICANN has updated the CPE FAQs. The update includes revisions to existing answers based on lessons learned over the past nine months of CPE operations as well as the addition of answers to questions regarding Accelerated Invitation to CPE.