ICANN and Economics

[Thato Mfikwe]

Thanks Paul,

I tend to concur with the certain sections of the article by Greg, some of
the issues raised here are not experienced for the first time within ICANN,
I guess action is not forthcoming. The large budget spends on personnel and
service providers are very suspicious and one does not have to look deeper
to see this because, in the midst of budget cuts, ICANN staff keep getting
increments year after year and it seems like ICANN is ignoring community
concerns.

One community member during the ICANN64 public forum raised the issue of
perceived wrongful processes of appointing service providers who are also
involved in community policy processes filling leadership roles, raising
concern on potential and perceived conflict of interest and also on the
side of ICANN personnel responsible for these appointments, not exercising
due diligence prior contracting. It seems like these issues will keep
resurfacing until accountability processes are strengthened within ICANN
org and communities.


Thato Mfikwe.


On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 10:40 PM Paul Rosenzweig <
paul.rosenzweig at redbranchconsulting.com> wrote:

> That is the problem Ayden, isn’t it.  I posted this article, not because
> of the IP-related bias (which I think is irrelevant to the main point the
> author is making) but rather because I think it calls out, quite correctly,
> that the entire multi-stakeholder community (not just NCSG) has lost
> control of ICANN.  Indeed, I think that for the most part the Board is
> losing control of ICANN and the bureaucracy has become a self-licking ice
> cream cone.  When we went through the CCWG-A process I thought the
> enforcement mechanisms for SO/AC/SG/G control were too weak and now it
> seems we are watching that play out in real time.
>
>
>
> Sadly, I can identify the problem, but I can’t see a way forward toward a
> solution just yet.  I do think, FWIW, that this issue of the erosion of
> multi-stakeholder control is THE single most important issue facing ICANN
> today.  When the elections are done, I would urge the NCSG and/or GNSO to
> try to jump start a strategic brainstorming process with an eye toward
> offering possible solutions.  I know I would participate in the effort …
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> Paul Rosenzweig
>
> paul.rosenzweig at redbranchconsulting.com
>
> O: +1 (202) 547-0660
>
> M: +1 (202) 329-9650
>
> VOIP: +1 (202) 738-1739
>
> www.redbranchconsulting.com
>
> My PGP Key:
> https://keys.mailvelope.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x9A830097CA066684
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* NCSG-Discuss <NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> *On Behalf Of *Ayden
> Férdeline
> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 5, 2019 10:53 AM
> *To:* NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: ICANN and Economics
>
>
>
> It is a good piece; thank you for sharing it, Paul.
>
>
>
> However the ICANN community has identified some of these issues before.
> Last year, every single public comment filed by an SO/AC/SG/C objected to
> the continued increase in staff remuneration, noting it was unsustainable.
> An issue seems to be with the overall accountability, or lack thereof, of
> ICANN org, as community input can so easily be cast aside.
>
>
>
> I do not know how we address this. It seems apparent to me that most
> consultation processes that ICANN org runs are box ticking activities
> rather than genuine attempts to engage with the public and to receive input.
>
>
>
> Ayden Férdeline
>
>
>
>
>
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>
> On Wednesday, 5 June 2019 16:33, farzaneh badii <farzaneh.badii at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> Thanks Paul.
>
>
>
> I also agree with some of his arguments. But regarding this part:
>
>
>
> "The stakeholder community that was supposed to serve as the check and
> balance on the ICANN organization has gone AWOL — bought off by the promise
> of a pittance and sung to sleep by fanciful lullabies of castles in the
> sky. "
>
>
>
> Was there a public comment period about the fanciful lullabies of castles
> in the sky? I don't think NCSG got the memo about that offering :)
>
>
>
> I think we are falling short of serving checks and balances on ICANN but
> the problem is also that we are institutionally trapped, the more powerful
> stakeholders have a lot of influence on ICANN org and we have groups that
> have no mission whatsoever but to protect ICANN org and the status quo.
> There has to be some way to change this.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Farzaneh
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 5, 2019 at 9:41 AM Paul Rosenzweig <
> paul.rosenzweig at redbranchconsulting.com> wrote:
>
> All
>
>
>
> This article is worth a read.  The author, Greg Thomas, used to work for
>
> Verisign.  These days he observes ICANN from the outside.  While I do not
>
> endorse the entirety of his analysis, he raises some troubling questions
>
> about ICANN's budgetary planning:
>
>
> https://medium.com/the-query/icann-and-voodoo-economics-in-wonderland-e76c4c
> b82c69?source=friends_link&sk=4a58165ab8445fca613bab1128ef5cf1
>
>
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> Paul Rosenzweig
>
> Red Branch Consulting, PLLC
>
> 509 C St. NE
>
> Washington, DC 20002
>
> paul.rosenzweig at redbranchconsulting.com
>
> O: +1 (202) 547-0660
>
> M: +1 (202) 329-9650
>
> VOIP: +1 (202) 738-1739
>
> www.redbranchconsulting.com
>
> www.paulrosenzweigesq.com
>
> My PGP Key:
>
> https://keys.mailvelope.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x9A830097CA066684
>
>
>
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