The Internet Democracy Project seeks
to enhance the participation of Internet users worldwide in non-governmental
bodies that are setting Internet policy and to advocate that these bodies adhere
to principles of open participation, public accountability and human rights.
Highlights
- Candidate application deadline
approaches--The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) will soon hold elections to select new At-Large Board members. If
you are interested in becoming a candidate, you must submit your application
by Monday, August 14, 2000.
- Meet
the Candidates--This feature is designed to provide background information
on the people who wish to become ICANN At-Large Board members. So far, ICANN's
official Nominating Committee has issued its list
of approved candidates. Further analysis of these candidates and their qualifications
is available in the Cyber-Federalist
No. 4. However, there is some controversy
as to whether other candidates will be able to get on the ballot, even if
they have public support. In particular, candidates not officially selected
by ICANN may have to be nominated by citizens from at least two countries.
Moreover, while ICANN has lowered the threshold for candidate nominations,
it has also capped the number of nominees at not more than seven per geographic
region.
- New
$50,000 application fees--ICANN is requiring individuals applying
for the right to operate new top-level domain names to pay a non-refundable
US $50,000 application fee upfront. ICANN will not consider applications unless
this non-refundable fee is paid first. Moreover, ICANN will not reimburse
people for the cost of preparing such applications. Critics charge that this
policy will hurt private individuals and non-commercial entities, who may
not be able to afford the fee.
- GAO report--the
United States General Accounting Office has issued a report on the legitimacy
of ICANN. In the GAO's opinion, the United States government did have the
proper authority to delegate responsibility over the Internet domain name
system to ICANN. However, the report questions whether ICANN has the authority
to create new top-level domains. This document is now available on the World
Wide Web in PDF format.
- Internet Governance
Sourcebook--The Project will soon publish and distribute a comprehensive
sourcebook on Internet governance. Entitled Internet and Democracy: Participation,
Transparency and Governance, this publication is designed to enable better-informed
advocacy by NGOs and better-informed decision making by policymakers.
- The
Cyber-Federalist--The Project distributes an electronic newsletter
that includes coverage of ICANN and its election of At-Large members.
- Who we are--The
Internet Democracy Project recognizes that the Internet is a unique medium
in which key governance decisions about the Internet's central resources and
operations are being made by quasi-governmental agencies such as ICANN. The
primary goal of the Internet Democracy Project is to enable a critical mass
of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to work on creating Internet governance
structures that preserve and promote the principles of a civil society.
Resources
- JCA-NET--This
Japanese non-profit Internet provider has created a special website to cover
ICANN's proceedings, with a particular focus on events that are of interest
to NGOs.
- ICANN Watch--an effort by several
noted legal scholars to increase public awareness of ICANN decisions.
- Domain Name Handbook--this
publication contains background information on ICANN and the Domain Name System.
- Bertelsmann
Foundation--this organization, based in Germany, promotes ventures in
the fields of education, culture and social policy, including Internet Policy
and the administration of the domain name system. It has launched a "Democratic
Internet" project to provide information about the formation of ICANN.
- ApplyAtLarge.com--this website
focuses on the concerns of ICANN At-Large members, including budgetary matters
and election procedures.
- CPSR--Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility has a number of background materials on ICANN issues.
- WIA--The World Internetworking Alliance
has created an online sourcebook on ICANN-related subjects.
- APC--the Association
for Progressive Communications has compiled a considerable amount of information
on ICANN governance.
- GILC--the Global Internet Liberty Campaign
is a coalition of over 50 cyberliberties groups from around the world dedicated
to protecting human rights on the Information Superhighway.
- Berkman
Center--this division of Harvard University Law School has a special project
on Open Governance of the Internet.
- Common Cause--this
public interest group (along with the Center for Democracy and Technology)
recently issued a study of how "the worldwide Internet community can best
be represented in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN)."
- IETF--The Internet Engineering Task Force
is an open international group of network designers, operators, vendors, and
scientists who help set technical standards for the Information Superhighway.
- ITU--Originally founded in the 19th century,
the International Telecommunication Union works to create uniformity in global
telecom operations.
- ETSI--In its own words, the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute "is a non-profit making organization
whose mission is to produce the telecommunications standards that will be
used for decades to come throughout Europe and beyond."
- Regional Network Registries--the following organizations are involved with
the administration and registration of Internet Protocol (IP) numbers:
The Internet Democracy Project is a joint initiative
by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
(ACLU), the Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC), and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR),
in association with the Georgia Institute of
Technology.
This project is made possible by a grant from the
Open Society Institute (OSI).
Comments? Contact our webmaster.
)
that includes a translation
of the official announcement. The Forum's mission statement is also available
in Korean (
).