ICANN Should Take 'Time It Needs' on Sale Review, Pallone Says; PIR Balked at CA AG
ICANN should get "the time it needs to carefully review" the Internet Society's plan to sell the Public Interest Registry to private equity firm Ethos Capital "and make sure nonprofits are protected," House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., tweeted…
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Tuesday. "Transfer of control of the Internet’s .org addresses may harm nonprofit groups and activists." Others have raised similar concerns (see 2002030020). ICANN had sought to extend review of PIR's takeover to April 20 from Feb. 17, after California's Office of the Attorney General sought the delay (see 2001310015). Last week, a lawyer for PIR wrote ICANN to say the .org registrar would agree to a delay until Feb. 29. Pallone wasn't more specific in the tweet his office emailed to reporters Wednesday. ICANN didn't comment. A House Commerce spokesperson responded to a question about the timing of Pallone's concern by pointing us to PIR's letter to ICANN. ISOC has "worked closely with ICANN and believe that it understands its limited mandate as set out in its fundamental bylaws," an ISOC spokesperson emailed. "We worry that ICANN is being inappropriately pressed to step outside of that mandate, which could only be harmful for its 'reputation for political independence.'" The spokesperson cited a Feb. 9 editorial from The Wall Street Journal. The editorial compared the "hysteria" around FCC net neutrality deregulation to PIR's transfer. ICANN "has spent 90 days reviewing this matter," a PIR spokesperson emailed us Wednesday. "Extending it further would set a precedent and introduce uncertainty into what should be a straightforward contractual process." PIR "may be amenable to one final brief extension, if necessary, provided significant progress is made toward completing this process," the representative added. Ethos has "been working closely with ICANN to answer their questions and have publicly given the necessary assurances for the community," a firm spokesperson emailed. "Ethos reiterates its commitment to being a responsible steward of PIR." The spokesperson pointed to a Feb. 6 post by Ethos Chief Purpose Officer Nora Abusitta-Ouri that ICANN's purview "is to ensure that the transfer does not adversely impact the stability, reliability, or security of the registry." That "mandate cannot be expanded simply because of external pressure," Abusitta-Ouri wrote. "PIR, which will remain the registry operator and has successfully operated .ORG for 17 years, meets all relevant criteria."