CircleID

Readers of my blog may recall that the Canadian Internet Registration Authority wrote a public letter earlier this year to ICANN that expressed concern over the current lack of accountability (note that I am on the CIRA board). The letter indicated that CIRA was withholding payment of any voluntary fees to ICANN until the accountability concerns were addressed.

This week CIRA followed up with a second public letter to ICANN. The letter clarifies that CIRA has no intention of disengaging from ICANN. It does state, however, that ICANN must demonstrate willingness to reform. In particular, it recommends that:

"ICANN engage a non-governmental, independent consultant to conduct a wide-reaching, public review of ICANN's transparency, accountability and the fairness of its processes and to provide a road-map for ICANN's reform."

With another ICANN meeting set for later this month, it is great to CIRA taking a leadership position on this issue as reform will only occur if the Internet community steps up the pressure for greater accountability and transparency.

By Michael Geist, Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law. Visit the blog maintained by Michael Geist here.

Related topics: DNS, ICANN