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Background and Intent

Following Community requests, this Confluence space has been created to house useful background materials and discussions on the topic of understanding the term “public interest” within ICANN’s remit.

Discussions on the topic of the “public interest within ICANN’s remit” and potential definitions of this term have been ongoing for years. In 2013-2014, the Strategy Panel on Public Responsibility Framework, led by Nii Quaynor, explored this topic. Based on community input at sessions and webinars, the Panel defined the global public interest in relation to the Internet as:

• “ensuring that the Internet becomes, and continues to be, stable, inclusive, and accessible across the globe so that all may enjoy the benefits of a single and open Internet. In addressing its public responsibility, ICANN must build trust in the Internet and its governance ecosystem.”

While some recommended the report, at individual and ICANN meetings, and at ICANN 52 in particular, it is evident there is a need and a desire to revisit this topic.

Given that there is currently little bandwidth for additional projects, and given the intense focus on other ongoing dialogues, this space has been established as a resource space for all to populate with background documents that will be useful in guiding this conversation forward.

In order to facilitate Community discussion on this topic, at a time when the Community is ready to do so; staff have been facilitating some desk research on how the term “public interest” is understood and applied from an operational standpoint in ICANN’s internal processes and documentation.

• This internal research is nearing completion; and ICANN is soliciting feedback on what would be useful in preparations for any conversations on this topic when there is more bandwidth to do so. If you have specific suggestions, please contact dprd@icann.org.

This will require global, multistakeholder, bottom-up discussion and ICANN wants to make sure that, when the time is right, that there are enough resources and background research available. We all will need to understand the operational, legal, and fiscal parameters and limitations to any potential definition(s) and any resources which will help inform this conversation are greatly encouraged. TBD

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