HLGM: The Role of Opportunities For Governments in ICANN – Post IANA Transition

Background/key message: The IANA transition has reinforced ICANN’s existing multistakeholder model and enhanced ICANN’s accountability. The new Empowered Community model is a mechanism through which ICANN's constituencies can organize to legally enforce community powers. In this context, governments through the GAC continue to play a critical role within ICANN. In the meantime, the governments are more and more active in developing legislative and regulatory texts related to digital issues which could impact upon ICANN’s Mission. The aim of this session is to discuss how to improve the dialogue between ICANN and governments regarding the potential impacts of new legislative and regulatory activities on ICANN and the DNS more generally. Potential discussion points: • Governments and Intergovernmental Organizations´ participation in ICANN: incorporating the public policy perspective into ICANN policy development • How is the model working for governments? (in the context of the Empowered Community model) • Taking stock: the role of governmental and intergovernmental participation in the GAC • Potential roles of governments making laws and regulations that could unintentionally affect ICANN’s multistakeholder model and ICANN’s role with the DNS; • Concerns on policy and regulatory proposals in front of IGOs; • Exploring the resilience of the multi-stakeholder model and multi-stakeholder approaches to Internet governance Chair: Francisco Polo, Secretary of State for Digital Advancement, Spanish Ministry for Economy and Business Moderator: Mathieu Weill (French Ministry of Economy, confirmed) Subject matter experts: Wolfgang Kleinwächter (confirmed), Ambassador Benedicto Fonseca (Brazil, confirmed) Invited discussants: William Drake (confirmed), Theresa Swinehart (ICANN, confirmed) - Session Leader: Robert Hoggarth Staff Facilitator: Julia Charvolen