MARINA DEL REY, Calif.—The ICANN Board of Directors has voted to consult with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) before revisiting ICM Registry's bid to operate a .XXX TLD at the December Board meeting in Cartagena, Columbia.
The Domains reported this morning that a resolution on .XXX was passed by the Board during a meeting Thursday, and should be posted to the ICANN website today. In the resolution, the site reported, “ICANN resolved to send the matter back to the Governmental Advisory Committee for its opinion on the contract based on a few points that will be detailed in the resolution.” Consultation with GAC must be completed by the Cartagena meeting, which is scheduled for December 5-10, the article added.
The Domains quoted ICM CEO Stuart Lawley CEO as saying, in reaction to the passage of the resolution, “We understand that ICANN wants to cross all of its t’s and dot its i’s by reaching out to the GAC. We welcome the Board’s resolve to move forward expeditiously, and continue to look forward to a first quarter launch.”
Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Diane Duke, who sent a letter to ICANN Wednesday listing several reasons why ICANN should seek the advice of GAC before voting on the application, provided the following statement Friday afternoon regarding the resolution's passage.
"While attending the GAC meeting in Brussels, I observed an informal conversation among its members. There was general consensus that its concerns had still not been addressed, and [that] its prior Communiqué objections stand,” she said, adding, “Stuart Lawley can stand on the rooftops and shout that this is a done deal all he wants, but this is an insurmountable obstacle for ICM to overcome. FSC pointed that fact out to the Board in our letter requesting that they seek consultation with GAC, and apparently, they agreed.”
UPDATE
Late Friday, ICANN updated its site to include the .XXX resolution passed by the Board Thurday. It reads, in full:
Whereas, the Governmental Advisory Committee communicated to the ICANN Board regarding the application for the .XXX sTLD through: (1) the Wellington Communiqué; (2) a 2 February 2007 Letter from the Chair and Chair-Elect of the GAC to the Chair of the ICANN Board; (3) the Lisbon Communiqué; and (4) a 4 August 2010 Letter from the Chair of the GAC to the Chair of the ICANN Board;
Whereas, ICM provided a proposed Registry Agreement to ICANN that was posted for public comment for 30 days;
Whereas staff recommends that, though the proposed Registry Agreement provides sufficient measures to address many GAC concerns, entering into the proposed Registry Agreement may not be consistent with some of the broader-reaching communications from the GAC, and the GAC and the Board could benefit from consultation on those items [PDF, 48 KB].
RESOLVED (2010.10.28.18) the Board Chair shall engage the GAC Chair on developing a process for consultation with the GAC on its advice about the ICM application.
RESOLVED (2010.10.28.19) the Board Chair will suggest to the GAC Chair that any consultation process conclude prior to the ICANN Public Meeting in Cartagena, Colombia.
