Brief
Several years of research by the community into ICANN Compliance handling of various complaints has created considerable concern. The main outcome is that the Compliance department does not appear to be independent and does not operate in the interest of the Internet user or consumer. The problems were most recently highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article which focused on a case brought to ICANN's attention by At-Large in 2011. In brief, ICANN Compliance seemed to be unable to recognize the simple fact that the cited domain was in violation for over three years. It was only after persistent work by At-Large that the registrar, BizCn, was issued a 2014 breach notice for just the violations cited by At-Large in 2011. A memo has been drafted, listing the issues, but more importantly recommending fundamental changes to ICANNs structure. The main recommendation is that the Compliance function be made independent of ICANN. A timeline of the difficulties is also provided for reference.
I. APPROVEDONLINEPHARMACY, RAPETUBE, BIZCN and ICANN COMPLIANCE
- Malicious and fraudulently registered domains were reported to ICANN multiple times over several years
- The invalid records appeared to be part of BizCn's official privacy protection
- Compliance seemed unable to recognize the invalid registrations despite the evidence
- Independent investigations by two newspapers found the records to be invalid
- Employees who worked on the cases were fired and the cases summarily closed
- Compliance issued contradictory statements about the various issues
- The CEO requested a report from At-Large leadership, which was provided, but it was not responded to
- ICANN eventually breached the registrar, BizCn, for the same conditions which it did not accept earlier
II. ICANN's Internal Structure Questioned
- At-Large, and the entire community, were informed that ICANN's Compliance director would be reporting to the CEO instead of the Legal Department
- Budget documents show that most Compliance funds are controlled by the Business division and the rest are controlled by Legal
III. Prior Relationships Between Officers
- ICANN interim CEO Akram Atallah brought in the current CEO, Fadi Chehade, from their company CoreObjects Software
- Atallah apparently also brought in Maguy Serad who is is the wife of former CoreObjects Software officer Roger Serard
- CEO Chehade promoted Maguy Serad and made Atallah head of the new Global Domains Division
IV. Rejection of Complaints following Transcribed Request
- During the March 2014 Singapore meeting Compliance explicitly requested a list of violating domains which followed a pattern of abuse at BizCn, which At-Large provided
- Compliance immediately rejected the list of violating domains, contradicting statements on transcript
V. Ombudsman Problems
- Problems in Compliance handling of above issues were reported to the Ombudsman
- The Ombudsman did not conduct an investigation but rather based his decision on Compliance statements about BizCn which were later contradicted in the Compliance breach notice against BizCn
VI. Recommendations
- Make Compliance an independent part of the ICANN structure
- Further distance the Ombudsman from the ICANN structure
- Keep IANA as a distinct entity
- At-Large should actively evaluate specific ICANN functions and offices
- At-Large should maintain its own complaint system to monitor ICANN handling of complaints
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" -Juvenal
