ICC BASIS welcomes IANA stewardship transition plan and related improvements to ICANN accountability

  • 11 March 2016
ICC digital growth

As a long-time advocate of the need to ensure the continued security, operational stability and multistakeholder nature of the Internet, ICC BASIS has welcomed the submission of proposals to transition stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the global multistakeholder community.

The package, which also includes plans to strengthen accountability of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as an independent organization, has been submitted to the US National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA)and is the result of an inclusive, global discussion among representatives from government, business, technical community, civil society and academia, as well as end users. If approved, implementation of the plan is expected to be completed prior to the expiration of the contract between US NTIA and ICANN in September 2016.

Thorough consultations seeking the global stakeholder views on the principles and mechanisms for the transition and enhanced accountability got underway following the US NTIA announcement of its intention to transition its stewardship of this crucial Internet function to the global multistakeholder community in March 2014.

IANA is responsible for coordinating some of the Internet’s technical functions, such as allocating and maintaining the unique codes and numbering systems that allow the Internet to operate smoothly. The comprehensive package submitted yesterday combines requirements for the transition coordinated by the IANA Stewardship Transition Group (ICG). The multistakeholder working group was responsible for assembling the components from the respective ICANN communities into a single proposal and for meeting criteria set out by NTIA. Enhancements to ICANN’s accountability were identified and put forward by the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability).

ICC BASIS and its cross sector membership of businesses and associations from around the world advocates the fundamental importance of a secure and stable Internet and strongly supports a multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. BASIS commends the serious and diligent work that occurred across all stakeholder communities in the development, evaluation and finalization of the proposals.

ICC BASIS participated in the ICG as a representative of business and was actively involved in the CCWG-Accountability process through the direct engagement of members advocating for minimum changes to the operational practices of the IANA technical functions. Chair of the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy and ICC BASIS liaison to the ICG Joseph Alhadeff said: “ICC BASIS called for any proposal for a path towards transition to maintain the security, stability and integrity of the Internet and be sourced from and supported by the breadth of the multistakeholder community. We believe that the proposals put forward have met those criteria and we will remain constructively engaged to continue to assure these priorities through the further implementation of these proposals.”

For more information

To read the IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal click here

To read the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Final Report click here