L’ICANN fournit des précisions à la FTC sur sa mission et sa politique

Publié le 02/08/1999 par Etienne Wery

La guerre entre NSI – société anciennement détentrice d’un monopole sur les noms de domaines internationaux – et l’ICANN – structure nouvellement créée en vue de la libéralisation partielle de ce marché – se poursuit devant la Federal Trade Commission (FTC) américaine. On sait que certaines instances internationales s’en mêlent également, puisque Bruxelles (plutôt pro-ICANN,…

La guerre entre NSI – société anciennement détentrice d’un monopole sur les noms de domaines internationaux – et l’ICANN – structure nouvellement créée en vue de la libéralisation partielle de ce marché – se poursuit devant la Federal Trade Commission (FTC) américaine.

On sait que certaines instances internationales s’en mêlent également, puisque Bruxelles (plutôt pro-ICANN, NSI était perçue comme un moyen détourné de maintenir la mainmise américaine sur le réseau) a signalé ouvrir une enquête contre NSI pour abus de position dominante.

Les rétroactes peuvent être consultés en faisant une recherche dans notre base de données sur le mot-clef nom de domaine, ICANN, ou NSI.

Dans une lettre du 22 juin la FTC a récapitulé toutes les questions qu’elle se pose au sujet des activités, de la légitimité et du financement de l’ICANN, priant cette dernière de lui fournir une réponse détaillée à chacune.

Les questions posées sont :

 


1. 1(a). Before imposing a $1 per domain name registration fee, did ICANN conduct, or have conducted on its behalf, a legal analysis of its authority to impose such a fee? If ICANN did conduct such a legal analysis, please provide all records related to the aforementioned legal analysis. If ICANN has not conducted such a legal analysis, please provide a detailed legal analysis of the source and limits of ICANN’s authority to impose a $1 per domain name registration fee.

    
   

2. 1(b). Has ICANN conducted, or had conducted on its behalf, a legal analysis of its authority to terminate NSI’s authority to register domain names? If ICANN has conducted such a legal analysis, please provide all records related to the aforementioned legal analysis. If ICANN has not conducted such a legal analysis, please provide a detailed legal analysis of the source and limits of ICANN’s authority to terminate NSI’s authority to register domain names.

    
   

3. 1(c). Has ICANN conducted, or had conducted on its behalf, a legal analysis of its authority to retain intellectual property rights over registrar data? If ICANN has conducted such a legal analysis, please provide all records related to the aforementioned legal analysis. If ICANN has not conducted such a legal analysis, please provide a detailed legal analysis of the source and limits of ICANN’s authority to retain intellectual property rights over registrar data.

    
   

4. 1(d). Are any ICANN interim board members compensated by ICANN? For every interim board member who is compensated, please identify the interim board member in question and indicate the amount of compensation.

    
   

5. 1(e). Regarding ICANN’s « Transition Budget for Fiscal Year 1999-2000: »

    
   
   • i. Who drafted this budget? 
     
   • ii. How did ICANN arrive at funding levels in this budget? Please provide an explanation of the underlying rationales that served as the basis for the budget’s funding levels.

    
   

6. 1(f). What are the circumstances under which ICANN’s interim board will be replaced by an elected board? Please provide a reasonable estimate of when it is anticipated that this event will take place.

    
   

7. 2. A detailed explanation of ICANN’s decision to deny the general public access to portions of its meetings and the meetings of its supporting organizations.

    
   

8. 3. A detailed explanation of ICANN’s decision to seek authority solely over generic Top Level Domains (« TLDs »), and not over country code TLDs, many of which are commercial in nature and accept registration by all individuals.

    
   

9. 4. A detailed summary from each ICANN interim board member recounting the sequence of events that preceded the person’s acceptance of membership on ICANN’s interim board. This summary should include, but not be limited to, answers to the following questions:

    
   

   • a. Who contacted the interim board member regarding the possibility of serving on ICANN’s interim board? 
     

   • b. Who extended the invitation for membership on the interim board to the interim board member in question? 
     

   • c. To whom did the interim board member report his or her acceptance of the aforementioned invitation? 
     

   • d. Please provide all records related to the consideration and selection of each interim board member.

    
   

10. 5. All executed registrar accreditation agreements and related records.

     
    

11. 6. Records of all communications (whether written, electronic or oral) between ICANN (or its agents or representatives) and the Executive branch of the Federal government (or its agents or representatives, including but not limited to the Executive Office of the President), including but not limited to all records relating to such communications, regarding:

     
    

    • a. Negotiations or other discussions regarding the transfer of control of the root system to ICANN or an ICANN-affiliated entity; 
      

    • b. Negotiations or other discussions regarding future agreements relating to the DNS between ICANN and the Department of Commerce (excluding records of communications provided in response to request 6.a. above); 
      

    • c. The terms of ICANN’s registrar accreditation agreement, including but not limited to the imposition of the $1 per domain name registration fee; 
      

    • d. Termination or alteration of the Department of Commerce’s cooperative agreement with NSI; and 
      

    • e. Attempts to persuade or force NSI into entering a registrar accreditation agreement with ICANN, or NSI’s refusal to enter into the aforementioned agreement.

     
    

12. 7. All records relating to funding ICANN has solicited or received from:

     
    

    • a. For-profit entities; 
      

    • b. Not-for-profit entities; and 
      

    • c. Individuals.

     
    

13. 8. All records relating to the proceedings of any meeting of ICANN’s interim board, or any of ICANN’s supporting organizations, to which the general public has been denied access.

L’ICANN a fourni à la FTC sa réponse à ces questions, et a mis une copie de cette réponse en ligne.