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Board Actions on At Large Membership (Los Angeles, 11/99) ICANN Bylaws (as of 10/29/99) Board Resolutions on At Large Membership (Santiago, 8/99) Principles of At Large Membership (Berlin, 5/99) Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) Reports
MAC Interim Report (Singapore) Berkman Center (BCIS) Membership Models
BCIS Commentary: How do the NTIA White Paper and the ICANN By-Laws Impact Membership? Suggested Online Resources
In July 1997, the Department of Commerce issued a plan, commonly known as the "White Paper," for transferring the management of domain names and IP address to a private, nonprofit corporation. The White Paper stated certain goals for the nonprofit corporation, which included gathering input from "the broad and growing community of Internet users" and creating an election process for the Board of Directors that would include "broad representation and participation" from membership. When ICANN was officially recognized by the Department of Commerce, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that agreed to develop "appropriate membership mechanisms that foster accountability to and representation of the global and functional diversity of the Internet and its users." Seeking advice from the community on the complex issues associated with creation of an At Large membership, ICANN created a Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) in January, 1999, and asked for its recommendations on a range of membership policy and procedural issues. To assist the MAC with its work, ICANN commissioned a study by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The MAC's interim report was given to the Board at its meeting in Singapore in March, 1999 and a final report and commentary was delivered at its meeting in Berlin, in May, 1999. In Berlin, the ICANN Board adopted principles for At Large membership. In Santiago, the Board adopted resolutions that established a general structure for the At Large election process. Shortly before the November 1999 meeting in Los Angeles, the ICANN Board adopted an amendment that added a more detailed version of these provisions to ICANN's official bylaws. ICANN is currently in the process of creating an Implementation Task Force for carrying out the At Large Membership process.
Board Actions on At Large Membership (Cairo, 3/00) At the ICANN meeting in Cairo, the Board resolved to create a nominating committee to come up with five or more candidates for the ICANN Board of Directors to be elected by the AT Large membership. A study will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the elections process. The final four Board seats will be elected by November 2001. Article II of the Bylaws were suspended during the At-LArge elections process.
Board Actions on At Large Membership (Los Angeles, 11/99) At the ICANN Annual meeting in Los Angeles, the Board announced the receipt of a grant from the Markle Foundation that would permit ICANN to hire a dedicated At Large membership project manager. The Board also directed the President and CEO to convene a Membership Implementation Task Force, as described in the Bylaws, which would oversee membership recruitment and voter authentication. A public call for volunteers to serve on the Membership Implementation Task Force must be posted by November 19, 1999. In response to the significant public comments on the At Large membership provisions, the Board directed the ICANN staff to analyze the public comments, and to publish a staff report before the end of January, 2000 on possible further amendments.
ICANN Bylaws ( as of October 29,1999) Article II of the bylaws were suspended at the Cairo meeting in March 2000. Article II defines the rights of At Large Members and establishes the structure for the election of At Large Directors. ICANN adopted an indirect representation mechanism in which an At Large membership of a minimum size of 5000 individuals will elect an At Large Council composed of up to eighteen members. The At Large Council will in turn select nine individuals to become the At Large Directors of ICANN. Up to ten members of the At Large Council will be elected from each of the five geographic regions into which ICANN is currently divided, with no two regional members coming from the same country. Up to eight remaining members will be elected from a single global pool of candidates, with no restrictions on geographic origin. The minimum requirements for an individual to become an At Large member will be (a) completion of an online membership application, including a statement of a commitment to participate in ICANN's activities; (b) a working Internet email address; and (c) a single physical residence verified by a postal mail address.
Board Resolutions on At Large Membership (Santiago, 8/99) In Santiago, the ICANN staff presented two reports on At Large membership, one dealing with analysis and recommendations on an implementation plan for At Large Membership, and the other dealing with legal questions concerning the statutory membership status of At Large members. After hearing the staff reports, the Board adopted several resolutions establishing the basic structure of the At Large election process and membership rights. They decided that the At Large Directors would be elected indirectly through an At Large Council and that a threshold of 5,000 voters was necessary to make the elections representative of the Internet community. The Board chose to make voters "non-statutory" members, without the legal rights and ability to file derivative law suits that confer to "statutory" members. The President and staff were directed to seek funding for the At Large elections and to develop bylaws defining the specific rights of members and responsibilities of the At Large Council.
Principles of At Large Membership (Berlin, 5/99) In Berlin, the ICANN Board adopted four general principles for At Large Membership: 1) "members" should be individuals, and only "members" should vote for At Large Directors, 2) the election process for At Large Directors should take place in stages, to allow for adjustments in the process based on experience, 3) At Large Directors should be geographically diverse and broadly representative of the Internet user community, and 4) the costs of At Large membership should be borne by the At Large members. The Board adopted these resolutions after hearing input from the Membership Advisory Committee, which presented in Berlin recommendations on the Principles of At Large Membership (available online at http://www.icann.org/berlin/membership_rec.htm).
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rcs/macberlin.html In January, 1999, Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) and Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society began an intensive study of representation and other membership issues. The MAC's final report was delivered at its meeting in Berlin, in May, 1999. The report gave several specific recommendations on the rights of At Large members and the procedures for a fair election process. "Members" were defined as "any Internet user with access and verifiable identity." The MAC recommended that members should have the right to elect At Large Directors and approve changes to the ICANN Articles of Incorporation. Several methods of authentication were discussed, such as sending a membership identification code by postal address, requiring an annual renewal to purge nonactive members from the list, and requiring staff to periodically audit membership applications for fraudulent registrations. Specific proposals for outreach to recruit At Large members, (including requesting assistance from companies, associations, and registrars/registries), were included in the report. The report also suggested several authentication and disclosure requirements for candidates in the At Large elections, including a conflict of interest statement, proof of identity, statement of positions, and biographical information. The MAC recommended that the ICANN bylaws be amended to ensure that the At Large Directors include at least one from each of the five geographic regions and no more than 4 from the same region.
In Singapore, the MAC issued a preliminary report to raise issues, present opinions, explore ideas, and highlight consensus points in the At Large Membership process. The report summarizes comments from listserv archives, MAC committee meetings, and personal interviews conducted by BCIS with experts in the membership process; it serves as a detailed history of the MAC's exploration of major At Large Membership issues. Issues discussed include: definition of "member," safeguards against "capture," methods of authenticating voters, international representation, procedure for nominations and voting.
BCIS Membership Analysis http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rcs/models.html As part of the Representation in Cyberspace Study, the Berkman Center produced a comprehensive chart comparing the pros and cons of three categories of membership ‚ open, individual and organizational. Each class of membership is described in detail and an analysis is provided of the advantages and disadvantages of each model. As described by the chart, an open membership, or "one person-one vote" structure, would offer low barriers to voter registration, would not charge a membership fee, and, therefore, would provide the greatest level of universal suffrage and stability. BCIS Commentary: How do the NTIA White Paper and ICANN By-Laws Impact Membership? The Berkman Center provides an analysis of how the three categories of membership ‚ open, individual and organizational ‚ meet the principles of ICANN established by the White Paper and the Bylaws: competition, stability, private bottom-up coordination, and representation. BCIS presented this paper at a workshop on membership issues in January 1999. The archive of briefing materials, minutes, and real video archive is available at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rcs/workshoparchive.html.
Membership Advisory Committee Archives Individual Domain Name Owners Constituency
Additional Membership Models:
Mark Heckendorn, Discussion Draft, Proposed ICANN General Membership Structure James S. Fishkin, University of Texas at Austin, Deliberative Polling Thomas Lowenhaupt, A Model for Internet Governance at the Global and Community Levels
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