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In response to community request, ICANN is opening a 21-day comment period on Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process posted on 14 August 2014. Community input after the posting highlighted that, given the importance of this issue, the community needs more time to ensure that as many stakeholders as possible can review proposals and post questions and comments.

In response to community request, ICANN is opening a 21-day comment period on Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process posted on 14 August 2014. Community input after the posting highlighted that, given the importance of this issue, the community needs more time to ensure that as many stakeholders as possible can review proposals and post questions and comments.

This process is intended to deal with focused systemic issues caused by the changing historical relationship with the United States, including for example, by stress testing against internal or external captures or takeovers, and safeguards against capture at all levels, which is a pre-condition of the IANA stewardship transition. Statements made by the NTIA since posting clarify that this process is limited to ensuring ICANN remains accountable in the absence of its contractual relationship with the U.S. Government. This process could potentially include an evolution of the AoC, but does not replace or duplicate existing ICANNaccountability processes such as the Accountability and Transparency Reviews that deal with routine execution of tasks.

ICANN is an evolving organization with existing review mechanisms that ensure it continues to evolve to events not related to the changing relationship with the U.S. Government.

Scope of Public Comment Period

This public comment period is focused on addressing questions about the design of the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process – not about the potential solutions or outcomes of the review. In the previous public comment and public sessions, community members have identified many possible solutions of how to enhanceICANN accountability, such as the development of new community driven redress mechanisms. These proposed issues and solutions as they pertain to the changing relationship with the US are expected to be addressed by the process. Please note:ICANN has not evaluated these proposed issues or solutions – that is for the Enhancing ICANN Accountability review to take on. Should the work of the process identify topics outside the scope of this process, those topics should be categorized and noted for future work post transition, including for consideration in the next ATRT process, or other new processes to be identified or recommended by the process.

However, those issues and solutions are not under discussion here. The question for this public comment discussion is: Are there any final modifications or improvements needed to the Enhancing ICANN Accountability process design to allow for this discussion to proceed?

Any comments on this process are welcomed.

To help guide this comment period, some of the questions that could be helpful to answer (derived from questions received from the community) include:

Role of Cross Community Group:The Cross Community Group, open to all including those beyond the SO/ACs, is currently proposed to identify issues for discussion by the Coordination Group. Should the Cross Community Group also be empowered to identify potential solutions to the Coordination Group, for prioritization and consideration?

Composition of Cross Community Group:Are there proposed modifications to the Cross Community Group composition that could be implemented, that will also take into account the interest that this review has raised for those new to the ICANNcommunity and otherwise unaffiliated with an SO or AC?

Composition of the Coordination Group: Should the Cross Community Group have any role in the confirmation of stakeholder experts selected from SOs, ACs or SGs to the Coordination Group, or have the ability to challenge any such selection?

Risk of Undue Influence: What protections can be built into the process to protect against any individuals or interest groups exercising undue influence within the process?

The Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process as posted on 14 August 2014 is available here.

FAQs are available here.

Questions from the leadership of multiple Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies on the process are availablehere [PDF, 106 KB].