The fight over the dotcom contract is escalating.
I've just received a copy of a letter sent to Internet overseeing organisation ICANN from the company that runs Canada's .ca registry, CIRA. They've effectively cut all links with the organisation.
CIRA has “grown increasingly concerned with ICANN's departure from a number of its core values”, the letter states. And, unsurprisingly, it finds that “the process by which ICANN renewed its dot-com agreement with VeriSign is illustrative of this departure.”
It goes on to give three recommendations about accountability, transparency and fair process and then says until ICANN addresses these concerns it will:
- Kill its contributions to ICANN
- End discussions over the “accountability framework” where ICANN is trying to get individual countries to formally accept its role
- End any sponsorship of ICANN events
- Stop chairing an important working group on technical Net changes
None of this will affect ICANN's ability to function but it is a massive ratcheting up of action against ICANN for failing to listen to its members and pushing ahead with the VeriSign/dotcom contract regardless for its own ends.
The registrars have become increasingly aggressive, China has publicly questioned ICANN's authority, and now Canada has refused to work with it. This was an extremely strong action for CIRA to take, and it almost certainly has alot to do with Rob Hall, who founded CIRA and is behind the Coalition for ICANN Transparency (CFIT) which is suing ICANN for many of the same things that pop up in this letter.
Nevertheless, it is a stark indication of how annoyed the Internet community is. It will be interesting to see if any other countries follow Canada's lead. If they do, ICANN could find that its mighty authority becomes nothing but sand in its palm.
PDF of the letter attached below.
