ARIN's View of Magaziner's DCISOC Appearance

This is not ARINs view of his comments, but a synopsis of his remarks.
Your subject line was misleading, but the article itself was interesting,
so thanks for reporting it here...


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> Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 17:36:49 -0400 (EDT)
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> Subject: Remarks by Ira Magaziner to DCISOC
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> A Synopsis of Remarks Made by Ira Magaziner on the Topic of Internet
> Governance
> 
> Monday evening, May 11, 1998, Ira Magaziner, Senior Advisor to the
> President for Policy Development, spoke on the topic of Internet
> Governance before an audience assembled by the DC chapter of the
>  Internet
> Society.  His presentation addressed the subject from the perspective of
> the U.S. Government and re-enforced previously stated positions that
> support the decentralization and privatization of the Internet.
> 
> It has been several months since the Green Paper (Improvement of
>  Technical
> Management of Internet Names and Addresses) was published. During that
> period, some 1500 pages of commentary, submitted in response to that
> paper, have been reviewed and evaluated. By the end of this week, or
>  early
> next week, Magaziner promised, the government will publish a White
>  Paper,
> incorporating some of the suggestions submitted by the Internet community.
> This would be "the implementing draft" for the upcoming transition.
>  While
> carefully not divulging information in advance of publication, Magaziner's
> presentation provided some insight into the general approach that the
> government intends to take in the area of Internet governance.
> 
> Referencing recent history and the role that government agencies played
>  in
> launching the Internet, he told the group that the government still has
>  a
> legal obligation with respect to Internet Governance but is eager to
> effect a smooth transition that minimizes its future involvement. In the
> past, he said, a technology of this sort would invite centralized
> inter-governmental control. He illustrated this point with references to
> industries such as telephone, radio and television. A highly regulatory
> approach "does not make sense" today, according to Magaziner.  Instead,
>  he
> described the vision of the U.S. Government for the Internet as it
> proceeds forward as relying on private sector leadership that is
> decentralized and international in nature.
> 
> Describing the non-profit organization that would assume responsibility
> for Internet governance as the government's role was phased out,
>  Magaziner
> outlined four areas of responsibility falling under that authority. The
> first of these is the assigning of Internet Protocol (IP) address blocks
> to the numbering authorities. The second area would be policy
> decision-making in Domain Name issues and the third would be oversight
>  of
> the management of root servers. The fourth area of responsibility would
>  be
> the establishment of Internet protocol under IETF guidelines.
> 
> One issue that emerged clearly from Magaziner's remarks is the
> government's position that in the future, Domain Name registration
>  should
> involve competition among registrars with shared access to generic
> top-level domains. No specific details regarding plans for accomplishing
> this goal were presented.
> 
> The composition of the governing organization, based on the information
> provided Monday evening, will closely resemble the structure outlined in
> the original green paper.  The government will recommend the inclusion
>  of
> representatives from ARIN, RIPE, and APNIC on the Board. The government,
> he emphasized, would not appoint the Board but would "recognize" the
>  Board
> appointed by the Stakeholders.
> 
> Elaborating on the nature of the appointed Board, Magaziner set forth
> certain conditions that the new organization must meet to succeed.
>  First,
> he said that the new organization must operate in a transparent manner
> with by-laws that allow it to "re-form itself." It is also important for
> the new organization to be incorporated under one legal authority to
> ensure stability and hopefully avoid having questions settled by "twenty
> different courts around the world." The new non-profit entity responsible
> for governance must have the legal authority and credibility to withstand
> the "inevitable lawsuits" that will occur. It must, he said, "be robust
> enough to go forward."
> 
> In addition, Magaziner said that the organization itself must be
> international in scope and Stakeholder based. He expressed his belief
>  that
> the European stakeholders have also accepted the underlying principles
> behind the new governance structures and that consensus has been
>  achieved
> in many important areas of concern.
> 
> He is hopeful that by late summer, the new organization will get
>  underway.
> He indicated that NSI's contract would not be renewed but that
> negotiations with NSI would begin quickly following the issuance of the
> white paper. The transition will occur, but the timetable will be
> determined by events. The sooner the new organization becomes stable,
>  the
> sooner the government will withdraw from an active role. The stability
>  of
> the Internet is at stake and the government recognizes its responsibility
> and authority to ensure that stability. The white paper will provide the
> rules to bring about the transfer of control.
> 
> In his remarks, Magaziner emphasized the need for balance in addressing
> the multiple issues that presently confront the Internet community.
>  Issues
> of taxes, tariffs, privacy, and intellectual property, he acknowledged,
> create complexity and will require international consensus.
> 
> Recognizing in his concluding remarks that none of us fully understands
> what is happening as we enter this transition period, Magaziner indicated
> that at least "we know enough to understand that we do not understand."
> The key, he said, is in the creation of structures that are flexible
> enough to evolve. He is also hopeful that groups of people willing to
>  take
> on these challenges will emerge to take on leadership roles.
> 
> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
> 
> 
> -
> Jim Fleming
> Unir Corporation - http://www.unir.net
> IPv8 - Designed for the Rest of the Human Race
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