At-Large Public Interest Commitments Workspace

FINAL VERSION TO BE SUBMITTED IF RATIFIED

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FINAL DRAFT VERSION TO BE VOTED UPON BY THE ALAC

The final draft version to be voted upon by the ALAC will be placed here before the vote is to begin.

WHEREAS the At-Large Community of ICANN is deeply concerned about numerous identified problems with procedures related to Public Interest Commitments (PICs) in the current round of Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) applications;

WHEREAS these concerns have been expressed previously and repeatedly, having also been supported by comments previously made by ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), including its Communiqué of ICANN 51. 

WHEREAS a subset of new gTLD applications -- notably in the fields of health, education, finance, charities and gambling -- have been  identified by the GAC as particularly sensitive, requiring enhanced safeguards to build public trust; 

WHEREAS the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) has held a Public Comment Process, that has attracted a number of comments from the broader community that have been critical of (and raised concerns regarding) the PIC safeguard processes; and

WHEREAS ICANN has proceeded to sign contracts regarding some of these highly-sensitive TLD strings, despite the repeated concerns expressed by the ALAC, GAC and other organizations regarding the urgency of enhancing their public interest protections;

BE IT RESOLVED that the ALAC:

• ADVISES the Board of ICANN to immediately "freeze" (that is, cease contracting of or delegating) the 28 TLD strings identified by the GAC as requiring enhanced safeguards ("Category 1, Safeguards 1-8"), pending further community review and subsequent changes to the Public Interest provisions of the TLD agreements;
   
• FORMS a sub-committee, comprised of At-Large and other ICANN community members, to examine the current PIC mechanism, as well as any other Public Interest safeguards that may be deployed for relevant TLDs, and to recommend enhancements that better protect consumers and end-users in an expedited manner;
   
• ASSIGNS a liaison to the newly-formed ICANN Contract Compliance and Safeguards group (subject to its approval), in order to ensure that the At-Large Community is aware of the initiatives and progress of the Department on an ongoing basis.

FIRST DRAFT SUBMITTED

WHEREAS the At-Large Community of ICANN is extremely concerned about numerous identified problems with the procedures related to upholding the Public Interest Commitments (PICs) in the current round of gTLD applications;

WHEREAS these concerns have been expressed previously and repeatedly, having also been supported by comments previously made by ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC);

WHEREAS a subset of new gTLD applications -- notably in the fields of gambling, health, education, finance and charities -- have been identified by the GAC as particularly sensitive, requiring enhanced public safeguards; 

WHEREAS the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) has held a Public Comment Process, that has attracted a number of comments from the broader community that have been critical {and raised concerns regarding} of the PIC safeguard process;

And WHEREAS ICANN has proceeded to sign contracts regarding some of these highly-sensitive TLD strings, despite the repeated concerns expressed by the ALAC, GAC and other organizations regarding the urgency of enhancing their public interest protections;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the ALAC:

• ADVISES the Board of ICANN to immediately "freeze" (temporarily suspend implementation of) the 28 TLD strings identified by the GAC as requiring enhanced safeguards ("Category 1, Safeguards 1-8"), pending further community review and subsequent changes to the Public Interest provisions of the TLD agreements;
   
• FORMS a sub-committee, comprised of At-Large and other ICANN community members to examine the current PIC safeguard process, and to recommend enhancements that better protect consumers and end-users in an expedited manner;
   
• ASSIGNS a liaison to the newly-formed ICANN Public Responsibility Department, in order to ensure that the At-Large community is aware of the initiatives and progress of the Department on an ongoing basis.