Farber, Neumann, and Weinstein Call for End to ICANN

lapse writes: "PFIR's latest policy statement calls for bringing an end to ICANN. Without assigning blame, it calls for immediate action, and suggests some possible paths forward. Let's hope that this clear statement from such a respected trio will lead to better times ahead for Internet policy management." Salon also has an interview with Karl Auerbach about his lawsuit against ICANN.

Defining date

[karl.auerbach]

One of the dates coming up on the ICANN calendar this summer or very early autumn is the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between ICANN and the Nat'l Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) [part of the US Dept of Commerce].

That MoU is the vehicle through which ICANN gains most of its authority over DNS. See http://www.icann.org/general/agreements.htm [icann.org] for a pointer to the MoU and its series of amendments.

Another vehicle is a contract with NIST for the "IANA Function":
http://www.icann.org/general/iana-contract-21mar01 .htm [icann.org] This is due for renewal about now.

Re:No more central control - Open DNS

[Bartmoss]

Because if you take away the universal standard, there's no garuantee that a host will be universally accessible. Suddenly, there will be a dozen slashdot.org and a thousand sex.com sites.