ICANN has asked the US government to be freed from official control according to a report prepared by ICANN and sent to the Department of Commerce. The report addresses the objectives set by the US government that had to before it could become independent. These included that ICANN “has put in place means of being accountable to parties with an interest in the internet, including other governments, and that the process should now be completed” according to The Times.
Paul Twomey comments in the report to the Department of Commerce: “Has the process of the MoU and JPA towards building a stable, strong organization which can do this transition, has that been successful? … The board is effectively saying yes.” While Peter Dengate Thrush’s letter sent with the report says: “The Board proposes that the JPA is no longer necessary and can be concluded.”
The Times also quotes Dr Milton Mueller, a partner in the Internet Governance Project, a group of academics specialising in internet governance issues, who said: “Compared with other international organisations ICANN is very transparent, but at times it still feels a bit more like a private club, with not enough checks and balances. This new ‘no confidence vote’ procedure is definitely the direction they need to move in.”