Question: The only legislative body I've seen with special intrest groups on the board is ICANN. Why do the companies have a bigger say in the governing of the internet than the people? Should they?

Nominee Replies

Barbara Simons - posted on 2000-10-01 20:34:28 ICANN's Byzantine structure gives companies a bigger say in the governing of the Internet than users, and I think this is most unfortunate. For starters, there should be nine *elected* at large members of the Board, not five elected and four appointed, as will be the case after this election. In addition, there should be a vehicle by which individuals can express their opinions and influence Board decisions in way that will have impact. If I am elected to the Board, I shall push to have all nine at large Board members elected by the at large membership in a relatively short time. We also need to have a dynamic Individual Domain Name Holders Constituency recognized by ICANN and at least made a part of the DNSO. Modifying the underlying structure of ICANN to make it more representative of the users is a far more challenging problem politically. Before trying to address that very hard problem, I shall attempt first to give people more ability to have input by instituting well-defined procedures. If individuals are to participate in a meaningful way, they need to have time to read and comment on new proposals before they are enacted. Emerson Tiller, J.D., Ph.D. - posted on 2000-10-01 20:33:33 That is a good question. ICANN has technical, business, and intellectual property interests currently well represented on the board. ICANN was designed that way (some say captured). The missing piece is the At Large directors who will hopefully provide some kind of check and balance to the board. I think the At Large director that you elect should come from the general user or academic base, not from big business or technology interests. Those interests are already well respresented at ICANN. Lawrence Lessig - posted on 2000-10-01 19:58:54 No. At-large members are a crucial part of the balance that created ICANN in the beginning. It is a mistake that more are not now being elected (9 rather than 5), and it is critical to assure at-large membership remains a central part of the bargain. Donald Langenberg - posted on 2000-10-01 19:36:09 The ICANN Board is not a legislative body. It's a governing board. As such, it ought to serve the interests of all its stakeholders. Board members should not view themselves as representing special interest groups, whether those are companies or the people.