Review Panel Chides ICANN Board, Government Reps

ICANN’s board of directors failed to exercise adequate diligence when it accepted government advisor advice regarding an application for the .africa top-level domain (TLD), an Independent Review Panel determined in a decision released late July 10 (DotConnectAfrica Trust v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Int’l Ctr. Disp. Resol., Case #50 2013 001083, 7/9/15).

The decision could have wide-ranging implications for how the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ board considers the formal advice of its Governmental Advisory Committee, which must be taken into account on matters of public policy. ICANN’s bylaws require the board ...