House Communications, IP Subcommittees Plan Wednesday Hearings on ICANN, IANA Transition
The House Communications Subcommittee and House IP Subcommittee will examine ICANN’s planned spinoff of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions in separate Wednesday hearings. Both subcommittees said their hearings would focus on stakeholder perspectives on the transition process. Communications…
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Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and other subcommittee members plan to focus on the current status of the transition process and its potential effect on the Internet, the subcommittee said. House Communications hadn’t disclosed the names of witnesses at our deadline. That hearing also centers on the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act (HR-805), which Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., reintroduced in February. The bill would prohibit the NTIA from approving the final IANA transition plan for up to a full year while GAO conducts a study of the plan (see 1502100049). The hearing is to begin at 2 p.m. EDT in 2322 Rayburn. House Communications’ renewed interest in the IANA transition comes amid new progress by ICANN on its IANA transition proposals. ICANN’s cross-community working group on ICANN accountability (CCWG-Accountability) released its draft proposal earlier this week (see 1505060067), while the IANA stewardship transition working group (CWG-Stewardship) released its revised draft proposal last month (see 1504280060). The House IP Subcommittee hearing's focus on the IANA transition will be accompanied by a focus on stakeholders' perspectives on ICANN and the .sucks domain rollout. Amazon Vice President-Global Public Policy Paul Misener and NetChoice Executive Director Steve DelBianco are among the eight set to testify during the hearing, the subcommittee said Thursday. “As we reflect on our long term aspirations for governing the Internet, we must take the utmost caution in establishing a process to transition to a new form of governance,” said subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., in a news release. “Before a transition of ICANN can occur, there must be robust protections in place to protect the essential functions of the Internet.” That hearing is to begin at 10 a.m. EDT in 2141 Rayburn. Past congressional scrutiny of the IANA transition process has been negative, including in Congress' passage of the "cromnibus" funding bill, which prohibits NTIA from using its funds for IANA transition-related activities through Sept. 30, the day the agency’s current IANA contract with ICANN ends.