Proposed Letter to ICANN

[Mitch Stoltz]

While I prefer Ayden's approach, I've suggested additions to Milton's 
draft letter that I hope can gain consensus: if Ethos is unwilling or 
unable to agree to the contractual terms we request, ICANN must exercise 
its right under the Registry Agreements to withhold consent for a change 
of control of PIR. I've also suggested broadening Milton's description 
of content-neutrality.

I agree with Ayden that the .ORG registry should be run by a nonprofit, 
that Ethos Capital has not earned the community's trust, and that a sale 
under these conditions is harmful to noncommercial .ORG, .NGO, and .ONG 
registrants. But I also agree that it would be a travesty for NCSG to 
say nothing (or nothing meaningful) about this issue. And it would be 
foolish not to invoke the contractual provision that would give ICANN 
some negotiating leverage with the ability to block the change of 
control of PIR.

I strongly suspect that either approach, if adopted by ICANN, would lead 
to the same result: Ethos will not go through with a sale if they are 
unable to exploit their newly-purchased monopoly position at the expense 
of nonprofit registrants.

Mitch

Mitch Stoltz
Senior Staff Attorney, EFF | 415-436-9333 x142
https://www.eff.org/donate | https://act.eff.org/

On 12/7/19 4:57 PM, Ayden Férdeline wrote:
> Milton
>
> In your previous email you wrote:
>
>     ... it would be a travesty if NCSG were unable to get its act
>     together to submit a unified letter to ICANN’s CEO and board
>     regarding what we want them to do.
>
>
> I agree with this comment.
>
> However I am unsure how we can submit a unified letter if your draft 
> completely eliminates an entire argument (that the sale should be 
> halted) that has been expressed by numerous NCSG members.
>
> There is not a consensus that this deal is desirable or helpful. And 
> there are a lot of harms that can easily be envisioned given how 
> little we know about the buyer.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Ayden Férdeline
>
>
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> On Sunday, December 8, 2019 1:45 AM, Mueller, Milton L 
> <milton at GATECH.EDU> wrote:
>
>> At this link 
>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zfaTlkIUZEsNMOQljy43SQSXZUQBmgFSJYVnjGgpYp8/edit?usp=sharing
>>
>> you can see a new proposed letter to ICANN. I have started from scratch.
>>
>>
>> The main difference is that instead of screaming about the sale I am 
>> focusing on the conditions attached to the original award of .ORG to 
>> PIR. I am asking ICANN to recognize its obligation to ensure that 
>> those conditions continue to be met.
>>
>>
>> Anyone with the link can comment. I hope this can gather quick 
>> support. I think we have wasted a lot of time and need to act 
>> quickly. If NCSG cannot act fast enugh I will publish it as an open 
>> letter to ICANN on the IGP blog, and accept sign-ons from anyone willing.
>>
>>
>> Dr. Milton L Mueller
>>
>> Georgia Institute of Technology
>>
>> School of Public Policy
>>
>> IGP_logo_gold block
>>
>>
>

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