page = savedotorg.org |
url = https://savedotorg.org
June 24, 2020
Joint Statement from NTEN and EFF, April 30 2020
Jun 26, 2020
On June 24, 2020 leaders of the SaveDotOrg coalition, including NTEN, EFF, and Access Now, sent a letter to Internet Society and Public Interest Registry in acknowledgement that the end of the proposed sale of PIR to private equity firm Ethos Capital was only part of the original coalition's request since November 2019. Still outstanding are critical protections in the .Org domain contract. The letter also noted three critical steps ISoc and PIR need to take for building trust including a transparent, independent review, shared findings, and a collaborative process for improving governance and accountability. On June 26, 2020 Andrew Sullivan, on behalf of ISoc and PIR, sent a letter in response . The ISoc letter defers any responsibility or accountability related to protections or actions listed in the coalition's letter to a recently chartered "Governance Reform Working Group" and notes that any changes or recommendations will be considered only after the Working Group has conducted their chartered work. No timeline for the Working Group's work was included, nor was information about who is in the Working Group or how they were selected. Further, the letter from Sullivan states that PIR will continue operating as they have been without any changes.
"After completing extensive due diligence, the ICANN Board finds that withholding consent of the transfer of PIR from the Internet Society (ISOC) to Ethos Capital is reasonable, and the right thing to do." The ICANN board's statement was posted on APril 30, 2020.
Apr 24, 2020
Heads of the Internet Governance and International Digital Dialogues Division and Cyber Foreign Policy and Cyber Security Coordination Division of Germany wrote to ICANN with their concerns about the proposed sale or .ORG to Ethos Capital. The letter (PDF) from April 24, 2020 specifically calls out lack of information about the deal and sufficient guarantees.
Internet Society’s Chapter Advisory Council issued a second statement of advice to the ISoc Board (PDF), stating “We reiterate that the sale of PIR to Ethos Capital should not proceed until, unless proscribed by law, the following conditions are met, and the ISOC Board has taken into account the comments received after the information requested below is made public.” The advice was passed on April 17, 2020.
In a letter dated April 16, 2020, ICANN and PIR agree to a further extension of the timeline for ICANN to respond to the proposal of PIR/.Org's sale to private equity firm Ethos Capital. The new deadline is May 4, 2020.
In a letter to the the ICANN board and staff leadership on April 15, 2020 , a coalition of organizations including Access Now, Domain Name Rights Coalition, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and NTEN, urge ICANN to stop the sale of .ORG to private equity firm Ethos Capital. The letter outlines concerns regarding procedural issues, financial stability risk, Ethos avoidance of accountability, and issues with Ethos' proposed PICs.
Michael Roberts, ICANN Founding President, and Esther Dyson, ICANN Founding Board Chair, coauthored a letter April 16, 2020, to the State Attorneys General of both California and Pennsylvania . California is where ICANN is incorporated and Pennsylvania where Public Interest Registry is incorporated. The letter outlines ICANN's deviation from core principles and allowing the circumventing of ICANN's clearly defined open, competitive, multistakeholder process.
ICANN published PIR's recently updated Public Interest Commitments (PICs), which were received by ICANN on 7 April 2020. PIR proposes that these PICs be added to the .ORG Registry Agreement should ICANN approve the change of control request submitted by PIR. In the same post, ICANN opens a 7-day public comment period , breaking with precedent of a 30-day window for public comments.
Mar 18, 2020
Five United States Senators, Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Ron Wyden, and Representative Anna Eshoo addressed the ICANN leadership including board and staff in a March 18, 2020 detailed letter and called for them to block the sale of .ORG to private equity firm Ethos. The nine-page letter (PDF) includes the positions that Ethos and PIR have not been transparent about who is behind the plan or their business plan, that Ethos' commitment to price increase limitations is weak, and that the Stewardship Council "would be toothless."
Public Interest Registry has announced they have agreed to the previously requested deadline extension of April 20, 2020. ICANN requested the extension twice before, though previous responses from PIR denied the full extension. The approval today comes just days before the previous extension deadline communicated by PIR of March 20.
Feb 26, 2020
Internet Society's Chapter Advisory Council issued advice to the ISoc Board (PDF), stating "The sale of PIR to Ethos Capital should not proceed unless a number of conditions are met." The letter also notes, "There is a feeling amongst chapters that ISOC seems to have disregarded community participation, failed to properly account for the potential community impact, and misread the community mindset around the .ORG TLD." The advice was passed on February 23, 2020.
On February 21, 2020, Ethos Capital announced new or updated initiatives related to the sale of PIR. Electronic Frontier Foundation, Americans for Financial Reform, and NTEN call for disclosure of the financial details behind the $1.1B sale, asking the FTC to scrutinize the deal.
ICANN previously requested an extension of their response to the proposed sale of .ORG to April 20, given the CA Dept. of Justice's request for information and the amount of time necessary for thorough review and preparation. PIR responded in a letter dated Feb 3 , that they would grant an extension only to Feb 29. Further, the letter from PIR explained ICANN's purview as limited to the "security, reliability, or stability of services of the .ORG registry". ICANN responded in a letter dated Feb 13 , requesting again an extension to April 20, and outlining in detail a broader scope of responsibility for ICANN's review.
Maarten Botterman, Chair of the Board at ICANN, issued 18 questions to Internet Society via a letter addressed to Gonzalo Camarillo , the Chair of the Board at Internet Society on February 13, 2020. The questions range in content including processes employed to engage the .ORG community with respect to the proposed sale, details of other bids received, and protections for .ORG registrations included in the proposed sale's details or contracts.
Jan 31, 2020
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General for the State of California, has issued a letter to ICANN outlining 35 questions to be addressed or answered related to a number of topics ranging from ICANN's role in Top Level Domain pricing and management to all communications from Internet Society and PIR related to the proposed sale to Ethos. On Jan 30, ICANN acknowledged the request (originally dated Jan 23, 2020) and gave formal notice to PIR that in order to comply with the request they will be sharing information PIR has previously designated confidential as well as an extension on the timeline ICANN has for responding to the proposed sale, pushing that deadline to April 20, 2020.
Some of the world’s best known charitable web leaders have created a new cooperative that includes all .ORG registrants. The articles of incorporation were filed on January 6, 2020 .
Dec 24, 2019
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., questioned whether nonprofit groups, free speech, and internet users would be harmed selling control of .ORG domains to a private equity firm. Their joint letter outlines nine questions and requests answers by January 6, 2020 .