1) ICANN Pays Senior Vice President Sally Costerton Secret Contract $$$
California Corporations Code - Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporations: "6813 ... (b) Every director, officer, agent or member of any corporation who, with intent to defraud, destroys, alters, mutilates or falsifies any of the books, papers, writings or securities belonging to the corporation or makes or concurs in omitting to make any material entry in any book of accounts or other record or document kept by the corporation is guilty of a crime. (c) Each crime specified in this section is punishable by imprisonment in state prison ..." (emphasis added)Should ICANN be run like a "chummy private club" or a nonprofit public benefit corporation with international scope and responsibilities, including duties to be accountable and transparent to the global internet community, meeting at least the baseline minimums required of all nonprofits jurisdictionally situated in California (US), and preferably far more than those minimums, since "Public-benefit nonprofit corporations are ... organized for the general public benefit, rather than for the interest of its members."
In pursuit of answers to those questions and more, as most readers know, I first questioned on May 28, 2017, ICANN's Form 990 filing (FY16 ending June 30, 2016) published by ICANN on May 15, 2017, for review by the global internet community as required by the U.S. Department of Treasury's IRS (ICANN has IRC 501(c)(3) tax status).
My May 28th inquiry generated a partial answer from ICANN on July 13, 2017, disclosing a total of $114,203.24 paid in FY16 to ICANN Chairman Steve Crocker's personal corporation, Shinkuro, Inc., not disclosed on ICANN's filed FY16 Form 990.
I responded on July 17, 2017, asking again for full disclosure of all amounts paid to all ICANN directors and officers, directly and indirectly, noting specifically:
"... completely missing from ICANN’s [Form 990] list of 39 “Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees,” is Sally Costerton, Sr. Advisor To President & Senior Vice President, Global Stakeholder Engagement, who is also an “Executive Team Member” according to ICANN’s organization management chart (pdf) and has been employed as a “Vice President” of ICANN since 2012 according to her profile at icannwiki.org."ICANN CFO Xavier Calvez replied on July 18, 2017, as I disclosed in News Review: ICANN Accountability, FY16 IRS Form 990 Redux | DomainMondo.com:
"Thank you for your note below [July 17 email]. I acknowledge and agree that the document posted on 13 July in response to your questions left unanswered the specific question that you highlighted in the paragraph referenced below in quotes. This question is perfectly relevant to the topic of disclosures of information on compensation of directors, officers, key employees, etc… and answering it will help providing clarity and transparency on this matter which is technically complex and subject to legitimate and useful public scrutiny. The discussion you offered to explain further the quoted paragraph will be quite helpful to ensure we address fully your question, and I thank you for it. I suggest that we publish your email below and the response that I will provide in accordance with our Correspondence process. Thank you."--Xavier Calvez, ICANN CFOICANN finally responded October 9, 2017 (pdf):
"... Part VII, Section A. Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees” as reported by ICANN in the 2015 form 990, fully complies with the IRS requirements. For example, Sally Costerton is contracted via her company Sally Costerton Advisory Limited. Accordingly, under IRS instructions for the form 990, the compensation paid to Ms. Costerton’s company for her services is appropriately not included in the Part VII ..."
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| Sally Costerton Advisory Limited website: sallycosterton.com |
"Assuming arguendo, that what you have revealed and asserted (for the first time), in your correspondence of 09 October 2017, is true and correct, ICANN should have answered “Yes” to Form 990 Part IV 28(a), 28(b), and/or 28(c), instead of “No” ... And therefore ICANN should have completed and attached Schedule L (Part IV) to the Form 990 [disclosing amount paid to Sally Costerton Advisory Limited] .... there is no reference whatsoever in the Form 990 as filed, or on the public ICANN.org website, indicating the heretofore undisclosed “arrangement” between ICANN and its “Senior Vice President of Global Stakeholder Engagement” who is also “Senior Advisor To the President of ICANN” and an “ICANN Executive Team Member,” according to the ICANN Management Organization Chart (pdf) ....
"... such an arrangement with ICANN, which raises all kinds of questions about conflicts of interest, appearances of impropriety, organizational loyalty, etc., since Costerton has, apparently, since 2012, with the blessing of ICANN’s Board of Directors and top management, been simultaneously serving as ICANN Senior Vice President while also actively soliciting and servicing unknown clients and customers of her corporation “Sally Costerton Advisory Limited” ... your recent revelation indicates how much ICANN is still run like a “chummy private club” instead of a non-profit public benefit corporation with international scope and responsibilities ..."Full embed of my October 13, 2017 letter:
I heard back (via email) from ICANN CFO Xavier Calvez on October 13: "I am acknowledging receipt of the below email and its attachment. We will address as per our established Correspondence process."
2) Other ICANN news
b. ICANN GNSO Policy Briefing (pdf) for ICANN60 meeting in Abu Dhabi, 28 Oct - 3 Nov 2017.
c. ICANN Releases Findings from a Community-Wide Survey on Gender Diversity and Participation | ICANN.org
d. ICANN Webinar on Review Operating Standards | ICANN.org: Webinar Details and How to Attend Date: 19 October 2017 Time: 21:00 UTC To participate, RSVP to: mssi-secretariat @ icann.org to receive the dial-in information. More info at link above.
e. Request 17-4: DotMusic Limited and dotgay LLC | BAMC Recommendation on Reconsideration Request | ICANN.org: ".... The BAMC has considered the merits of Request 17-4, and, based on the foregoing, concludes that ICANN organization did not violate ICANN’s Mission, Commitments and Core Values or established ICANN policy(ies) in the Response to Joint DIDP Request. Accordingly, the BAMC recommends that the Board deny Request 17-4 ..."
f. New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP - October 2017 Newsletter | gnso.icann.org (pdf): ".... The co-chairs are forming a fifth Work Track in the PDP devoted solely to the issue of geographic names at the top level. Work Track 5 will have a shared leadership model between the GAC, ALAC, ccNSO, and GNSO. The co-chairs have asked the GAC, ALAC, ccNSO, and GNSO to each identify a co-leader for this effort. To date, the following people have been nominated: Annabeth Lange (ccNSO), Christopher Wilkinson (ALAC), and Martin Sutton (GNSO). The GAC has not yet released the name of its appointee. The Working Group is hoping to issue a formal call for volunteers prior to ICANN60 ...."
g. ICANN Management Organization Chart 06 Oct 2017 management-org-06oct17-en.pdf (pdf)
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
• 50% of the domaining industry about to be washed away? Probably--OnlineDomain.com
• ICANN.org: Do You Have a Domain Name? Here's What You Need to Know; and ICANN's Transfer Policy: 5 Things Every Domain Name Registrant Should Know--ICANN.org
• Trademark Rights Paramount to Contract Rights for Domain Names | IPLegalCorner.com
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
- Digital Trade Agreements Failing to Reflect Internet Community Input: UNCTAD | Electronic Frontier Foundation | eff.org: "... the need for aligning trade processes with multi-stakeholder values such as transparency, openness, and inclusive peer-to-peer participation by any interested party on an equal-footing ..."
- DNS a 'Victim of its Own Success' | darkreading.com: "..."The cheaper the device, the more you can fear it," [Dr. Paul] Vixie says. "I expect more Mirais" to emerge, he adds, because locking down IoT devices is a major cost that doesn't jive economically with low-cost consumer devices." [link added]
- Internet freedom in Africa matters | sabc.co.za:
- Iran's New Internet Minister Isn’t Delivering on Internet Freedom Promises: "Rouhani administration seemed to be expanding internet access, but the threat of censorship remains strong."--Motherboard.vice.com
- Internet Freedom Festival, 5-9 March 2018, Valencia, Spain--InternetFreedomFestival.org
5) Most read posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com:
1. News Review | RySG Requests $$$ and "Detailed Accounting" From ICANN
2. News Review | Esther Dyson Interview, ICANN Founding Board Chair
3. Knotel CEO Says Company Plans to Expand Internationally (video)
4. Hearing on 21st Century Trade Barriers & Cross Border Data Flow Policies
5. A Map of Internet Censorship Around the World (infographic)
6. Hackers Will Pose A Greater Cybersecurity Threat In 2018 (video)
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo