[Chapter-delegates] ICANN's Decision on Proposed PIR Transaction

Fri May 1 07:55:03 PDT 2020

Dear Andrew,

thank you very much for conveying the news and proposing a way forward.

Before proceeding, I wanted to ask a couple of small questions:

1. Ethos in its Statement on
https://www.keypointsabout.org/blog/statements-in-response-to-april-30-2020-decision-from-icann
has mentioned "Ethos is evaluating its options at this time", after
putting ICANN's decision in doubt. The ISOC Statement on the same page
appears to question ICANN's following of its own Bylaws, specifically
not acting as a regulatory body which is alleged to be in Article 1.
A Reconsideration Process exists, as laid out in
https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/accountability/reconsideration-en
- through your email below focussing on moving on, should we understand
that the Internet Society Board of Trustees has selected *not* to file a
Reconsideration? Has this "closure" already been coordinated with Ethos?

2. In the "agreement with Ethos Capital", is the Internet Society
protected by a termination clause that links to a limitation of
liability, in case things turn for the worse?

3. How much has this Board and CEO led escapade cost the Internet
Society so far?

Kindest regards,

Olivier

On 01/05/2020 13:09, Andrew Sullivan via Chapter-delegates wrote:
>
> Dear Chapter Delegates,
>
>  
>
> Over the past several months there has been much discussion and
> interest within our community regarding the Internet Society’s plan to
> sell Public Interest Registry (PIR), operator of .ORG and other
> top-level domains, to Ethos Capital. Under PIR’s registry operator
> agreements, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
> (ICANN) must consent to this (or any other) indirect change of control
> in order for the transaction to move to the next phase of the approval
> process. 
>
>  
>
> ICANN has announced that it does not consent to the transaction.
> ICANN’s decision effectively means that the transaction cannot, and
> will not, proceed.
>
>  
>
> I am, of course, disappointed by ICANN’s decision. ICANN took much
> longer than it should have to render its decision, and in my view,
> stretched beyond its own agreements and the remit in its bylaws. I am
> also concerned that ICANN has shown itself to be much more susceptible
> to political pressure than its mandate would recommend. Nevertheless,
> I am grateful that ICANN has now rendered a clear decision. This
> decision means that the period of uncertainty is over. In the future,
> we will continue to rely on our colleagues at PIR to provide exemplary
> registries in rigorous compliance with their ICANN agreements, and to
> continue to provide generous funding to the Internet Society. 
>
>  
>
> When the Internet Society Trustees accepted the offer from Ethos in a
> unanimous vote, they did so because they believed, and still do, that
> the transaction would be good for the Internet Society, good for PIR,
> and good for registrants in .ORG and all the registries PIR operates.
> It’s not very often where an opportunity presents itself that has
> advantages for everyone. 
>
>  
>
> When we announced the proposed transaction, several people, including
> some in our own community, expressed unhappiness with it. I want to
> acknowledge the criticism and emotions that greeted the transaction. I
> know there are members of the Internet Society who were angry and hurt
> by this proposal, and I am sorry about that.  
>
>  
>
> Several people also expressed disappointment about how the sale was
> handled. If we could have better apprised you, our community, in
> advance of this sale, we would have. Requests for
> large-scale consultation came from across our community; this was not
> something we could possibly undertake. The months since the proposal
> was announced have been hard on PIR’s staff, and an extended
> consultation without any clear picture of what the possible outcomes
> might be would have been worse for PIR and therefore for .ORG. Neither
> the Trustees nor I believed we could undertake such a consultation
> without damaging PIR, which would itself be harmful to the community
> that relies on .ORG.
>
>  
>
> Our community has been through a trial, and to address it, the Board
> of Trustees has already embarked on efforts to repair our bonds. While
> there were differing views about aspects of the proposed transfer, we
> have a unity forged in our shared commitment to the Internet, and our
> collective will to build a stronger and more accessible Internet is as
> assured as ever.
>
>  
>
> The organization has continued to develop its staff function to better
> respond to community needs, and to make sure that our work is both
> demonstrably useful to the Internet and relevant to its needs. We have
> received positive feedback about both the report of our 2019
> activities and the Action Plan for 2020. Our work on encryption,
> protocols, global routing, time security, community networks, and
> other priorities are moving with pace. Together we have work to do,
> especially at this time of global crisis when reliance on
> communication – and especially the Internet - is critical for society.
>
>  
>
> We will continue to grow the operations of the Internet Society
> Foundation, and we will keep working with our partners at PIR to
> ensure that the Internet Society can continue to build, promote and
> defend the Internet. In no way will this disrupt or slow the work of
> the Internet Society, our chapters or members, to achieve our vision
> of an Internet for everyone.
>
>  
>
> Regards,
>
>  
>
> Andrew Sullivan
>
> President & CEO, Internet Society
>
> sullivan at isoc.org <mailto:sullivan at isoc.org>
>
>  
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
> https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/private/chapter-delegates/attachments/20200501/4f2fe7bf/attachment.htm>