ICANN indicated it would “slow down and listen”...

ICANN indicated it would “slow down and listen” to concerns about its accountability process, without committing to a public comment period on the process, at an Internet Governance Forum session Tuesday (CD Sept 2 p13), emailed IGF attendee and NetChoice Executive Director Steve DelBianco. ICANN received a letter Aug. 26 from its major constituencies and shareholder groups questioning its accountability process released Aug. 14 (http://bit.ly/1vdRn3j) (CD Aug 28 p14). ICANN board Chairman Steve Crocker wants to “get moving on the substance of accountability mechanisms,” but was “dismissive about concerns over process, and suggested that ICANN already has plenty of accountability mechanisms,” said DelBianco. NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling “advised us to keep a narrow scope of accountability topics,” DelBianco said. Strickling wants “to keep [accountability] simple,” so as to expedite the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, said DelBianco. “Many of us want a broad scope of accountability issues, because we see this as our last best hope to get mechanisms that will force ICANN’s board and management to be accountable to the community -- not just to the ICANN corporation.” Strickling, ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade and Christopher Painter, the State Department’s cyberissues coordinator, reaffirmed their commitment to the multistakeholder approach at a high-level meeting Monday at the Istanbul event (http://bit.ly/1nSOlwp). Painter was speaking on behalf of Catherine Novelli, State Department undersecretary for economic growth.