The body that manages the Internet's worldwide addressing system today voted to begin the process of restructuring itself, apparently abandoning plans to establish a global mechanism that would allow ordinary Internet users to directly elect some of the group's leaders.
At a meeting in Ghana, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ordered an internal ICANN committee to develop a restructuring plan in advance of the organization's next meeting, scheduled for June in Bucharest, Romania.
In developing that plan, the newly christened Committee on ICANN Evolution and Reform will draw on recommendations included in a proposal submitted by ICANN President Stuart Lynn last month. In that proposal Lynn calls for the replacement of the ICANN's existing governance structure and the elimination of direct elections of ICANN leaders by rank-and-file Internet users.
In deciding to move forward with restructuring ICANN, the board of directors also today declined to act on a long-standing proposal to formalize the process by which "at-large" ICANN board members are elected by the online public.
"The Board is not persuaded that global elections are the only or the best means of achieving meaningful public representation or the informed participation of Internet users in the ICANN process," the board wrote in today's resolution.
Lynn's proposal calls for ICANN's 19-member board of directors to be replaced with a 15-member board of trustees. World governments - which currently perform a purely advisory function within ICANN - would chose five of the 15 trustees, under Lynn's proposal.
Lynn has said that governments would be well equipped to represent the public in the ICANN decision-making process.
Under today's resolution, the reform committee was instructed to work closely with Lynn and the permanent ICANN staff to develop the restructuring plan. The committee was also directed to consider any public input in forming its final recommendations.
Rather than approve a process for direct at-large representation, the ICANN board called upon the "ICANN community" to develop an "at-large mechanism" through which Internet users could formally participate in the ICANN process.
The board also resolved that any reform package should include "workable mechanisms and procedures that enable meaningful opportunities for participation by the full range of Internet users, including individuals, academic institutions, large and small businesses, non-commercial entities (including consumer groups), and other non-governmental organizations."
What form that participation will take and what power Internet users will have in the newly restructured ICANN was not specified in the board's report.
ICANN officials plan to discuss the board's decisions later today.