Byron Holland
Byron Holland is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). View bio
18
Sep
Inaugural Post
What can a domain registry possibly have to say that might be of interest, some might ask?
Well, quite frankly, I think most people would be rather surprised by the number of interesting and relevant Internet-related issues that our organization touches or is involved in. The goal of this blog will be to act as a catalyst for insight, discussion and debate on a wide range of Internet-related topics, as well as to inform and educate on the wide range of global Internet issues facing the Canadian Internet community.
A lot has changed on the net in the 10 years since CIRA was created, since the Internet really became a mass medium. Only 10 years ago, the Internet cracked the 100 million user mark globally…now we are over 1.2 billion. From what was generally considered the domain of academics, geeks and military folks, the net has become the backbone of the global economy, communications and social interaction on the positive side, but it has also has developed more troubling traits in terms of cybercrime, terrorism and warfare. In becoming this “global operating system”, many issues have arisen that require education, discussion, debate and advocacy. This is the intersection of operating the Internet and developing policy. This is the environment that CIRA works in.
How are the “Skanks of New York” and the United Nations relevant to CIRA’s day to day role? Believe it or not, both of them are very relevant.
While the Skanks story makes for some very sensational reading, it is really about the intersection of established Internet culture — anonymity on the net and “flaming”, the name given to often excessive name-calling and insults — and good old fashioned law, in the name of libel and defamation. Throw Google into the mix and its defense of the blogger’s privacy, and you have a very interesting situation where digital culture clashes with established case law, where the net meets the law; the right to privacy versus the right to not be defamed or flamed. We, too, are involved in a policy issue that is similar in nature, the right to know versus the right to privacy.
At a global level, there is a serious battle afoot for who actually gets to govern and coordinate the Internet. While all nations get to determine their domestic environment, at a global level, the Internet is coordinated by ICANN. This is the organization that, despite its warts, has been central to bringing 1.2 billion people online in the past 10 years. In spite of this, there are powerful voices that would like to see the coordination of the Internet brought under the control of the UN, through the ITU.
Needless to say, there are many stakeholders who think that the UN running the Internet is a really, really bad idea.
Both of the above-mentioned issues are very relevant to the average Canadian Internet user, and it is issues like these, and numerous others, around which this blog will seek to act as a catalyst to inform, entertain, educate and, most of all, stimulate discussion and debate.
9
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1
William Stratas
Hey Byron, what are the warts of ICANN? What is CIRA doing to help mitigate those warts? You also made similar reference to ICANN warts at the CIRA AGM this week.
Not much shows up in a Google search for “warts of ICANN” (other than a top link for http://www.genitalwartreport.com):
http://www.google.com/search?q=warts+of+ICANN
Thanks for shining some light on this. All kidding aside, if those warts push governance into the hands of UN, it obviously will be a big disaster.
2
Jim Dixon
It is very interesting to see CIRA stand out and give a corporate opinion on the Internet and domain issues.
I appreciate the effort, and especially the courage of Mr. Holland taking the time to bring to us his picks of Internet related blips and hiccups that affect the Internet and domain owners. I will definitely RSS this one.
~Jim~
3
Byron
Hi William, Thanks for the “inaugural question” and participating in our AGM on Tuesday. I wasn’t expecting quite so literal an interpretation of my warts phrase.
ICANN has numerous challenges and competing voices both from within as well as outside of the organization, so it is not really a surprise that it has stumbled from time to time.
In the past it had been criticized for lack of transparency and the tendency to do deals behind closed doors. In fact, CIRA ceased making financial contributions to ICANN at one point to register our unhappiness with this situation. ICANN has improved in the meantime, but it is safe to say that some of their decision making processes leave the community scratching our collective heads.
Another issue that has been subject to significant criticism is the way that ICANN has tried to introduce new gTLDs.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/icann-releases-new-gtld-guidelines.ars
Complaints include timing, cost, buckling to trademark interests and more. Further ICANN has vacillated on how they treat IP interests over time, which has not been helpful.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but timing, transparency, flip-flops are all part of the milieu that led me to make the comment that ICANN has a few warts.
4
Ivan Smith
William wrote: “Not much shows up in a Google search for “warts of ICANN”. I suggest you try Googling ICANN sucks
I was a voting member of ICANN in the 2000-2002 era, but have not been active there since .CA got into operation. One thing for sure, letting the UN have anything to do with running the Internet is a really bad idea.
5
Paul Anderson
Hey Byron,
Good blog. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to create and maintain. A lot of what you see and hear about CIRA comes from its critics so it’s good to read another point of view. Interesting, too, to hear about some of the trials of running an internet.
6
Brooks McMaster
Byron’s blog? Who is Byron Holland anyway? And when did he become an expert on Internet issues? I Googled “Byron Holland” and did not get much. I read his bio and see nothing there that positions him as an authoritative speaker on Internet matters–let alone ICANN or so called “ICANN warts”.
Byron…If you are are reading this, you are taking CIRA down the wrong road. From what we see, CIRA’s operating costs have gone through the roof since you took over. Moreover, membership engagement is at an all time low. Nice work buddy! If CIRA needs to give away several thousands of dollars of techno gear to attract people to the AGM, it can only mean that CIRA has rendered itself irrelevant to Canadians under your Board’s leadership.
What Canadians want to see is transparency and accountability. Maybe CIRA should listen to folks who know what they are talking about–folks like Professor Michael Geist.
Here’s an accountability test… Is CIRA prepared to fully disclose to total cost of the AGM–including door prizes, hotel rooms, catering, Board dinners, and all the other perks that remain hidden and obscure to domain name holders, members, and the Canadian public?
What Canadians want to see is CIRA become as accountable and transparent as the Government of Canada. Ever heard of ATIP? It is strange that CIRA can still get away with policy in making behind closed doors. Hiding behind corporate rules will not work anymore. Full disclosure. Nothing less please. Unless CIRA wakes up soon, things will begin to change once Canadians start writing to MPs and Minister Clement.
And your English-only Blog is an insult to all French speaking Canadians and the people of Québec. You better fix that soon. Frankly, I feel like filing a complaint to the Commissioner of Official Languages…or even better…the Bloc Québecois! You are giving separatists another good reason not to trust anything that comes out of Ottawa. Your insensitivity to Francophones is sad but reflective of CIRA’s way of doing business.
CIRA cannot hide the fact that it is a creation and instrument of the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada created CIRA, and the Goverment of Canada can easily turf the CIRA Board.
So let’s see if this Blog entry gets posted…
Good luck Byron! You will need it unless your organization wakes up soon. The CIRA Board is so out of touch with today’s Canadian reality…but that will soon change.
Brooks McMaster
Sarnia
7
Byron
Thank you for taking the time to provide comments and questions about CIRA on my blog.
It is somewhat ironic that your comments are conveyed – unedited and in real-time on one of our newest channels designed to provide full transparency and engagement with our stakeholders and members.
I am struck that your observations seem to be rooted in some unfortunately very commonly held mis-conceptions about CIRA’s mandate and governance structure. Allow me to clarify that context, which will in turn address your areas of concern.
CIRA is not a federal government organization. We are a not-for profit corporation, accountable to an elected Board of Directors. As you know, our election process is currently underway, and members of the corporation from across Canada are voting for Directors online, as we speak.
You mention concerns with respect to federal legislations such as Official Languages and Access to Information (ATIP). Neither of these pieces of legislation are applicable to our circumstance given that CIRA is not a government entity.
We are committed to providing fully bilingual service to our registrants and registrars in keeping with Canada’s linguistic duality. For your information, our blog infrastructure follows industry best practice among private sector and NGO social media forums wherein comments are posted in the language of origin of the writer. This practice is widely followed nationally and internationally, given the dynamic, constantly changing nature of the medium. If we receive questions in French, a French-language response will be provided.
You may be interested to know that CIRA is recognized internationally for its stewardship of the dot-ca domain as a key public resource. I was privileged to join the organization as President and CEO 20 months ago. During my brief tenure, I have been elected the Vice Chair of the ccNSO (http://ccnso.icann.org/), the organization within ICANN, comprised of all the national registry operators like CIRA. In addition, I am the Chair of the Strategic and Operational planning working group, the group that actually facilitates input for the global community of country code registry operators into the ICANN Strategic planning process.
To provide you with a brief glimpse of our leadership and reputation in the internet space, you may be interested to learn that when the newly minted Obama administration made its first stop at an ICANN meeting, they chose to meet with only three registry operators, of which I was one, proudly representing the dot-ca.
In terms of your inquiries around financials, I refer you to our financial statements on our website at http://www.cira.ca/annual-reports/2009/en/index.html which are absolutely transparent. You are correct that costs have escalated – as demonstrated in detail in our financials; this increase is directly attributable to an investment in replacing the entire registry, as well as updating the industry standard protocol. Investments have also been made in marketing and communications, such as the creation of our updated website and blog.
I invite you to check out our website where you’ll find full postings of our Board minutes – a Board that effectively represents Canada’s dot-ca interests with broad representation from a range of stakeholders, including Industry Canada.
CIRA does not operate “behind closed doors” as you suggest. To be fair, we operate our culture, processes, systems and Board meetings in a remarkably open and transparent fashion as evidenced precisely by this engagement online.
8
William Stratas
Here is a news story, hot off the press, on some changes in ICANN happening under pressure from international community:
quote>
As internet use expands worldwide, the United States said Wednesday it will give other governments and the private sector a greater oversight role in an organization whose decisions affect how computers relay traffic such as email and Twitter posts.
The move comes after European regulators and other critics have said the U.S. government could wield too much influence over a system used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Those critics have complained, among other things, about the slow rollout of internet addresses entirely in languages other than English.
</quote
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/09/30/internet-corporation-assigned-names-numbers-domain-website.html
or shortened as:
http://snipurl.com/s8lcy
9
Neil Flowers
Interesting group of preliminary e-mails. The debate between Mr. Holland and Mr. McMaster is enlightening. That’s what democracy is all about, so keep it up, and especially a civilized tone, please, so that facts, not emotion and political bias rule the back-and-forth. As to the money, we shall see in the months ahead how the investment pays off. I am sure that every party involved, even those who may at this point have some criticisms of CIRA, sincerely hope the payoff is in the best possible way, i.e., that in this investment the interests of Canadians of every heritage are served well by CIRA. Seems like this blog is a step forward in that.