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The final version to be submitted, if the draft is ratified, will be= placed here by upon completion of the vote.
The final draft version to be voted upon by the ALAC will be placed = here before the vote is to begin.
The first draft submitted will be placed here before the call fo= r comments begins. The Draft s= hould be preceded by the name of the person submitting the draft and the da= te/time. If, during the discussion, the draft is revised, the older version= (S) should be left in place and the new version along with a header line id= entifying the drafter and date/time should be placed above the older versio= n(s), separated by a Horizontal Rule (available + Insert More Content contr= ol).
AT-LARGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ALAC Advice to the ICANN Board on = ISOC/PIR Issue
The proposed sale of PIR to Ethos Capital has, understandably, created q= uite a stir, prompting commentary from many perspectives within the ICANN c= ommunity. As a member of that community, the At-Large generally, and the AL= AC specifically, join with others in expressing our frustration with the ma= nner with which the proposed transaction came to light, the complexity and = opacity of the transaction and the optics inherent in both the timing and i= ndividuals involved. We applaud the efforts by the ICANN Board to clarify a= nd make transparent, as much as possible, the process regarding the deal an= d to take the time to encourage the best possible result.
However, as the representative of the interests of individual end users = of the DNS, the At-Large must focus our commentary and advice on the practi= cal implications of the deal and make recommendations designed to best safe= guard the interests of those individual end users. The most significant imp= lications for individual end users are the security of and trust in the .OR= G TLD. This suggests that we need to focus less on the characteristics of t= he eventual registry and more on the characteristics of the eventual regist= rants of .ORG second level domains and the best place to safeguard the inte= rests of individual end users is in the Registry Agreement.
Approval of the transaction, by the ICANN board, must be conditioned on = amendments to the .ORG contract designed to capture, as much as possible, t= he intentions of the original RFP which awarded the contract to ISOC in the= first place and encourage the predominant makeup of the .ORG space to rema= in the most trusted TLD for non-profit entities and individuals. While disa= pproval of the transaction by the ICANN Board would be problematic, the Boa= rd should be prepared to block the transfer of ownership of the registry on= the basis of the public interest, absent significant changes to the .ORG c= ontract because those changes are the only real way to safeguard the long t= erm interests of not only individual end users but nonprofits as well, rega= rdless of the entity to which the registry contract is delegated.
Observations
Recommendations
The ALAC respectfully submits that .ORG is a special domain that require= s unique requirements or enforceable Public interest Commitments (PICs) wit= hin the registry agreement. It is only through explicit requirements in the= RA that .ORG has the best hope of maintaining the public trust it has larg= ely earned since the original RFP. Maintaining a top level domain devoted p= rimarily to nonprofits and individuals is critical to the internet communit= y and the board should be prepared, however reluctantly, to block the sale = of PIR to Ethos Capital, absent substantial changes to the Registry Agreeme= nt under which Ethos, or any future entity, must manage the domain.
The ALAC appreciate the opportunity to comment on this process and look = forward to further discussions on this historic transaction.