Rod Beckstrom on Affirmation of Commitments: Interview
Reglike interviews ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom.
We have a fresh acronym to add to the domain name lexicon: AOC, for Affirmation of Commitments.
Earlier today the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) formally disclosed its fresh agreement to replace the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the U.S. Government.
On the surface, the AOC (pdf) sounds like a wish list of everything a domain owner could want: explanations from ICANN regarding how it makes particular decisions, a requirement to address notable issues ahead of releasing fresh gTLDs, and more openness and reviews. The problem is that the agreement lacks teeth.
I talked with ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom this afternoon to dig into some of the details of the agreement.
Beckstrom explained that the AOC replaces the JPA, allowing for more control by world governments; not just the United States. But the AOC is just one piece of the puzzle, and the U.S. government still has a hand by awarding ICANN the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) contract.
“The IANA agreement gives us the authority to be the policy function globally for internet names and numbers, and that’s what holds the web together,” explained Beckstrom. “The JPA was the review process, a separate agreement that was trying to make sure that we grew up as an organization as a multi-stakeholder body.
The AOC represents the handing off of the formal review process from the United States to the world.
But the AOC isn’t a binding contract and lacks teeth. If ICANN doesn’t fulfill its promises under the agreement, the U.S. government can’t do anything regarding it, other than make its voice heard on the review panels. In fact, the agreement has a clause that allows either the U.S. government or ICANN to cancel the agreement with 120 days’ notice.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see [the cancellation clause] invoked, but like any partnership agreement it’s prudent to have an out clause,” stated Beckstrom.
Beckstrom explained that, as the priorities of ICANN change over the years, it may make sense for the agreement to be modified. For example, it might not make sense for frequent reviews of the effects of fresh TLDs ten years from now.
Section 9.3 of the AOC calls for ICANN to address many issues prior to releasing fresh top level domains. It’s unclear if this will slow down the introduction of fresh top level domains. Still, “fast track” IDNs, which are essentially IDN ccTLDs, appear to be full steam ahead.
“It looks like the IDNs are tracking very much on time and feedback seems to be ubiquitously positive,” stated Beckstrom.
Non ccTLD IDNs will be introduced as part of the fresh gTLD process.
The AOC, if followed, ought to be a positive thing for the domain name industry. And for those that thought the web would die when the JPA did, it appears to still be working.
