FYI:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020318/wr_nm/tech_internet_icann_dc_1
Internet Body Director Sues for Access to Records
Mon Mar 18, 2:15 PM ET
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The group that oversees the Internet's domain-name
system was slapped with a lawsuit Monday by one of its directors, who says
he has been denied access to the organization's corporate records.
Karl Auerbach, a director of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers, filed suit in Los Angeles to gain access to travel records,
payroll figures, and other day-to-day details of the organization that
oversees the system that guides e-mail and Web browsers around cyberspace.
Auerbach said ICANN (news - web sites) staff has not allowed him to view
the records, as required under California law.
"ICANN management has denied me the tools I need to exercise independent
judgement and fulfill my duties as director," Auerbach said in a statement.
Staff members have sought to get Auerbach to sign a confidentiality
agreement before viewing the records, a move he has resisted.
An ICANN spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
The move is the latest in a long-running battle between Auerbach and ICANN
staff, whom he says wields too much control over the organization.
One of the few ICANN directors chosen by direct elections, Auerbach has
been a frequent critic of the organization and often casts the lone
dissenting vote on ICANN decisions.
Formed in 1998 to take control of the Internet's domain-name system from
the U.S. government, ICANN has overseen the introduction of seven new
domains to join the likes of ".com" and ".org," and has encouraged start-up
domain-name retailers to challenge the monopoly once held by Network
Solutions Inc., now a unit of VeriSign Inc .
But the nonprofit body has drawn criticism from those who say it does not
make decisions in a transparent fashion, and does not hold itself
accountable to the 500 million people who use the global computer network.
At a meeting in Accra, Ghana, last week, the ICANN board said individuals
users should have a say in the organization, but did not commit to future
elections.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a cyberspace civil-liberties group, is
representing Auerbach in the suit.
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Jay Fenello, Internet Coaching
http://www.Fenello.com ... 678-585-9765
http://www.YourWebPartner.com ... Web Support
http://www.AligningWithPurpose.com ... for a Better World
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impossible and never been easy." -- Noam Chomsky
