Karl Auerbach via At-Large <at-large@icann.org> writes:
On 5/19/25 5:21 AM, Lutz Donnerhacke via At-Large wrote:
https://domainincite.com/31049-icann-kills-off-diversity-and-inclusion It's a pity.
More than a pity. ICANN's footprint is worldwide. Yet here is ICANN dancing to a foul tune of hate, bias, and discrimination being played by exactly one of the more than 150 national governments.
That might make those other countries wonder "what tune can our country play to make ICANN dance to our policy whims?"
And it might add to the skepticism of people in those other countries who wonder whether ICANN is really an aspect of US hegemony.
The process of fracturing the Internet into regional, cultural, religious, or corporate internets is slow - but this move by ICANN is, in my eyes, a big wedge and sledge that significantly weakens the bonds that hold ICANN and the Internet together.
One might ask "Who in ICANN decided on this change?" And "why?".
--karl--
ICANN is a US corporation (Californian isn't it still)? So it can't be surprising that the local political sphere creates waves within it. There was a sort of conceit that its legal jurisdiction as a US (nfp!) corporation is a good thing as it provides a sound legal framework that ensures that the global communities trying to achieve consensus over managing UIRs can do so separately to the exigencies and needs of US jurisdiction of ICANN under US jurisdiction. Too many now working through ICANN let alone at ICANN treat ICANN as the voice of the community rather than a disposable shell whose only remit and purpose is to serve the myriad communities around the world who deploy UIRs to manage and serve Internet user experiences. Rather important I think that the reaction to this is that those global communities stop being mesmerised by ICANN as a corporate body and instead focus on what they really need to achieve to ensure the Internet is for everyone. If ICANN fits a purpose to serve that then wonderful. If things have moved on then those functions can be handled in other ways and in alternative structures. I don't see this wording change as so significant as to require a rewrite of ICANN today but also I don't see Internet fragmentation as a function of diversity of management organisations of UIRs rather the contrary as a reaction to over centralisation. -- Christian de Larrinaga