Potential Human Rights Concern Re: ISOC/PIR/Ethos Sale

[Peter Micek]

Thanks, everyone.

Access Now also put out this open statement today highlighting the need for
human rights due diligence and other safeguards:
https://www.accessnow.org/access-now-calls-on-icann-and-internet-society-to-halt-the-sale-of-org/

As Bruna graciously announced, Access Now, called an emergency Town Hall
meeting on the sale of .ORG today at IGF in Berlin. The event broad
together a broad spectrum of folks, both from ISOC Board and ICANN Trustees
as well as IGF participants without background on these issues. I thought
it was a lively and engaging conversation that at the very least
established that broader consultation and transparency from the parties to
the sale is needed and welcomed.

We plan to circulate minutes from the Town Hall soon, but for now you can
likely find a lot of tweets ie
https://twitter.com/lawyerpants/status/1199657223909187584?s=19 ICANN said
that they have been notified and indicated that the Article 7.5 process is
underway.

I look forward to more advocacy from this list to use all available ICANN
mechanisms.

Best,
Peter







On Wed, Nov 27, 2019, 5:10 PM Caleb Olumuyiwa Ogundele <
muyiwacaleb at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Ayden,
>
> I earlier shared some line of thoughts on human rights here as well.
>
> https://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind1911&L=NCSG-DISCUSS&P=47064
>
>
> Although, a different perspective. I'd like to have your thoughts on it.
>
> Regards
> Caleb Ogundele
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 27, 2019, 3:33 PM Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com> wrote:
>
>> It has now been acknowledged <https://www.keypointsabout.org/> that Fadi
>> Chehade’s company, Chehade & Company, is an adviser to Ethos Capital.
>>
>> *The Register *reports
>> <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/26/org_selloff_internet/> that Mr
>> Chehade himself was seen at PIR's office this week during a meet-and-greet
>> with PIR's staff.
>>
>> Mr Chehade is co-chair of the advisory committee
>> <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12/18/ex_icann_ceo_will_work_with_china/>
>> to the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, and has other business dealings
>> in China.
>>
>> Can .ORG registrants in China be assured that, once Ethos Capital takes
>> ownership of PIR, that if the Chinese government requests the contact
>> information of a .ORG registrant, that Mr Chehade would not instruct Ethos
>> Capital to do as the Chinese government wishes?
>>
>> I think this is an area of divergence where a PIR under ISOC's management
>> may behave differently to a PIR owned by a company whose advisor has strong
>> business interests in China.
>>
>> Do others share this same concern as me?
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Ayden Férdeline
>>
>
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