It’s a rare event that the technical aspects of the Internet make it onto TV, but Dave Farrar appeared on New Zealand Breakfast TV of all things on Thursday explaining that Internet NZ was going to stir things up in Marrakech because of the .xxx decision.
The fact it was .xxx was, of course, the news angle but the presenter gave Dave some time to explain about the concerns of US government influence. I wonder how angry the Kiwis are about this. If they really start stirring things up and them and CIRA (which is already on a war-footing) start riling each other up, it could get messy. You can see the whole interview here.
Unfortunately tied in with which, all possible sympathy to ICANN Board member and leading light of the New Zealand Internet community, Peter Dengate-Thrush for his terrible and tragic loss yesterday.
I’m not sure we are angry but it has made us very wary. Proceeding with things such as accountability frameworks and contractural fees requires a fairly high degree of trust that has been shaken with both .com and .xxx. Not for the decisions per se but the way they were made.
ICANN survived WSIS because countries like NZ backed them saying they are not just a front for the USG. Now if that proves to be not the case, then the pressure for ICANN to have powers transferred to ITU or such will increase.