Posts by Thomas M. Lenard
Commentaries and Op-Eds
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has control over extremely important aspects of the Internet. Yet, its non-profit corporation status, combined with the way that it is funded and governed, make accountability a serious problem. This paper draws on the accountability framework that has been developed by Mueller (2009) to evaluate the structure and governance of ICANN and then compares it to the structure and governance of a number of other organizations that perform a roughly comparable range of coordination and standard-setting functions, to explore what might be applicable to ICANN. Virtually all of these other organizations are governed by their direct users, thereby building accountability into their structures. We suggest that this would be a good model for ICANN as well.
Testimony and Filings
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a preliminary staff report proposing a new privacy framework for businesses and policymakers.1 The new framework includes provisions intended to better inform consumers about how their information is being used, provide consumers with easier-to-understand choices including a �Do Not Track� option, and restrict how businesses collect, retain and use data.