Good morning, Chapter leaders,
We are in the final stretch before the expiration of the contract between the NTIA and ICANN to perform the IANA functions. As I’m sure you’ve seen, the rhetoric around the IANA transition is ramping up. The Internet Society (and many of its members) have been active participants in the IANA stewardship transition process over the last two years, and we’d like to ensure that our support of the transition is heard by the decision-makers in Washington.
Today, Kathy published an op ed in The Hill (http://thehill.com/blogs/
I would like to request that the U.S. Chapters sign on to the attached letter from Civil Society in support of the transition. The Chapters have an important role in this process – as I said, many ISOC members have worked tirelessly on the proposal to transfer oversight of the IANA functions to the multistakeholder community. The more organizations we can get behind the transition, the more powerful our message will be. And, if you feel it is appropriate, please share Kathy’s op ed on your social networks.
With a Congressional hearing now scheduled for Wednesday next week, our timeline is tight. It would be most effective to send the Civil Society letter ahead of the hearing. Therefore, it would be greatly appreciated if I could receive your approval to add your chapter’s name on the letter as soon as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime – my cell is 613-715-3508.
Thanks,
Mark Buell
Regional Bureau Director, North America
Internet Society
Skype: mark_at_isoc
Civil Society Statement:
Statement in Support of Completing the IANA Transition on September 30, 2016
We, the undersigned, believe it is critical to the future of the Internet for the IANA stewardship transition to complete on September 30, 2016, with the expiry of NTIA’s contract with ICANN. Signatories to this letter include leading civil society organizations dedicated to defending freedom online.
We believe the best defense against foreign governments exerting control over the Internet is to finish the transition on time. Critics have suggested that maintaining the US Government’s role in IANA will somehow prevent attempts to censor the Internet, but the exact opposite is true. Any delay would signal to those who want to control the Internet that the US Government does not believe the Internet really works as designed. It would tell the world that the historic consensus that exists in support of the IANA transition is insignificant. And, it would discredit the US Government’s longstanding support for the multistakeholder Internet governance model.
Over the past two years, the organizations and individuals most invested in the smooth functioning of the Internet and the free flow of information online have come together to produce a transition plan to safeguard the Internet’s future. Executing this plan now is the best guarantee of the stability and security of the Internet. Reasserting US Government authority at the last minute would only fuel foreign governments’ attacks on Internet freedom and openness, both in inter-governmental fora and via technological solutions designed to fragment the single, globally interconnected Internet.
The IANA transition does not imply any Internet “give away.” Since the Internet’s inception, the US government has worked together with businesses, technologists, individuals, and civil society organizations to ensure that the Internet remains a tool that can bring about social, economic, and political change and further the realization of human rights. These are the same stakeholders that developed the transition plan’s detailed governance and accountability measures and stand by those measures today. To suggest that these same businesses, individuals, and organizations would agree to handing over the Internet to the UN or to nations that support a government-run Internet is simply not credible.
The Internet is revolutionary because it is a voluntary system. It works because the parties who run and oversee the infrastructure choose to work together and trust each other of their own accord. If the US Government does not keep faith with its commitment to the transition, that will undermine the trust that all of the parties have in the system. Such mistrust could lead to much more drastic changes to the Internet than merely letting the NTIA contract expire, as it is set to do.
Our organizations are dedicated to fighting censorship and defending freedom. We believe completing the IANA transition on time is imperative and urge members of Congress to do everything they can to ensure a successful transition on September 30.
Signed,
Access Now
Center for Democracy & Technology
Open Technology Institute
Public Knowledge
