Interview of Sally Costerton by Sébastien Bachollet
On the occasion of ICANN’s 25th anniversary, opening plenary of the French IGF 2023: “what Internet governance in 10 years?”
[Sébastien Bachollet]
Sally, you are currently ICANN Interim President and CEO, and you are still Sr. Advisor to President and SVP, Global Stakeholder Engagement.
You join ICANN more than 10 years ago and this year is the 25th anniversary of ICANN.
I would like to thank you to be with us today for the French IGF.
Three At-Large Structures are EURALO members and part of the organization of the French IGF. ISOC France a founding member of EURALO, E-senior and Éclairement the newest EURALO ALS.
I would like to ask you 3 questions. But maybe some introductory remarks?
[Sally Costerton]
Dear friends,
Thank you for the invitation and the privilege of being here with you, even if online. I am happy to participate in this plenary on a subject closely related to my role as CEO and President of ICANN, but also, and above all, as an Internet user!
I would also like to extend, on behalf of ICANN, my sincere congratulations for organizing this new edition of the France Internet Governance Forum. It is a testament to the importance of national dialogue on Internet governance and your support for the principles of IGF, especially after hosting the Global Forum in 2018. ICANN is delighted to stand by your side for this edition.
This year, we are celebrating ICANN’s 25th anniversary. This provides me with an opportunity to express my gratitude for your active participation within the ICANN community and in various discussion forums on Internet governance. I also appreciate your engagement in Brussels, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union.
The positions of the French Internet community, while sometimes critical of governance themes, remain constructive and focused on preserving the principles of openness and multistakeholder participation.
In today’s world, Internet regulation has become a geopolitical issue. I am more convinced than ever of the importance of the following:
- Safeguarding the global interoperability of the internet, which is my main concern.
- Participating in and supporting the multi-stakeholder model of Internet technical governance. At ICANN, my colleagues and I work diligently to ensure that the various departments, governments, and parliaments involved in Internet regulation are aware of how their colleagues actively participate in ICANN and other global technical organizations.
- Continuing to develop the multi-stakeholder model by preserving the principle of bottom-up decision-making, ensuring the representation of all stakeholders, and striving to include communities that are currently underrepresented. In this context, initiatives such as the Coalition for Digital Africa, Universal Acceptance, IDNs, and the new ICANN scholarship program are essential.
Once again, I express my gratitude for your presence and support. Together, let us work towards a future where the Internet remains an open, inclusive, and accessible platform for all. Thank you.
[Sébastien Bachollet]
My first question
What are the main changes around ICANN during your time in ICANN?
[Sally Costerton]
● As you mentioned, I’ve been at ICANN for 10 years, and there have been several major developments over that time. But before we get to that, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support and contribution of the French Internet community to ICANN and the multistakeholder model.
● France has been well represented on the ICANN Board of directors by Sebastien Bachollet, Bruno Lanvin, Jean-Jacque Subrenat, and Bertrand de la Chapelle.
● As far as the main changes around ICANN over the last decade — two things strike me: the global pandemic and the incredible growth of the Internet.
● In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Internet usage grew by more than 10 percent — the largest increase we’ve seen in more than a decade.
● The number of Internet users grew again from 4.5 billion in 2020 to more than 5.3 billion today.
● This remarkable growth is particularly evident in Africa. There were around 570 million Internet users in Africa in 2022, more than double the number of people who were online in 2015.
● To help increase access to the Internet among communities worldwide, ICANN has been promoting the adoption of Universal Acceptance.
● Universal Acceptance is a technical necessity that ensures that all domain names and email addresses, regardless of their script or character length, can be used in all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.
● While the Internet has been a source of opportunities for growth and development, for several decades, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet became a vital necessity for working, learning, accessing basic services, and keeping in touch with loved ones during our confinement.
● In Europe, the passage of laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation–the GDPR–became an example of how regulation can have unintended consequences on the DNS and the multistakeholder model.
○ In response, ICANN has been focused on implementing policies and building systems to facilitate access to registration data related to generic top-level domains (gTLDs), while at the same time complying with the law.
● ICANN is a technical organization, and not a political one; therefore, it has never allowed itself to politicize any question, related to its mission.
● A great example of this is when, in 2022, Ukraine’s foreign minister asked ICANN to suspend the .ru domain.
● ICANN did not heed the request for two reasons: First, because it would run counter to its mission to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified Internet. And second, because it’s technically not possible. Remember, the Internet as a whole is a decentralized system. No one actor has the ability to control it or shut it down.
[Sébastien Bachollet]
What are the main changes within ICANN during your time in ICANN?
[Sally Costerton]
Launch of the new gTLD program
● ICANN has had several major accomplishments during my tenure, one being the launch of the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program in 2012.
● This was a policy initiative by ICANN to expand the number of generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, beyond traditional ones like .com, .net, .org, .info, .cat, and others.
● The program enabled the largest expansion of the DNS to date and resulted in more than 1,200 delegations.
● The goal of introducing the new gTLDs into the Internet was to enhance competition, innovation, and consumer choice. In addition, the program brought many new safeguards that help to support a secure, stable, and resilient Internet.
● The program allowed for the introduction of new gTLDs like .app, .shop, and .bank, and Internationalized Domain Names (or IDNs) in non-Latin scripts.
● The introduction of IDNs is enabling a multilingual Internet and allowing people to navigate the web in their own language.
The IANA stewardship transition
● The IANA stewardship transition in 2016 was the final step in a nearly two-decades long process by the U.S. Department of Commerce to transition the coordination and management of the domain name system to the private sector.
● The transition plan developed by the international Internet community led to the global stewardship of some key technical Internet functions.
● The successful transition was a testament to the hard work of the global Internet community and the strength of the multistakeholder model.
● The plan provided a comprehensive package to transition the U.S. Government’s stewardship of these technical functions, called the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) functions, which are critical to the Internet’s smooth operation.
● These functions include management of Internet number resources, management of the DNS root zone, and maintenance of the authoritative registries for many of the codes and numbers used in the Internet protocols.
● The transition was the final step in the long-anticipated privatization of the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS), first outlined when ICANN was incorporated in 1998.
● The French community was very actively involved in the IANA transition, for example Mathieu Weill was co-chair of the Work Stream 2 cross-community working group on accountability. And Sebastien Bacholet was also very active in the WS 2 discussion related to diversity. I’d use this opportunity to also mention the contributions to ICANN by Philippe Fouquart, who was chair of the GNSO Council between 2020 and 2022.
● When the U.S. government cut the last thread of control over ICANN during the IANA Stewardship Transition, it facilitated even greater global participation.
ICANN globalization with the opening of Istanbul, Singapore offices
● The globalization of ICANN means the organization provides more services around the world and engages with local Internet communities in order to fulfill its mission.
● Last year at the IGF, together with the ITU, the African ccTLD association, and the Association of African Universities, ICANN announced the launch of the Coalition for Digital Africa. I’d like to thank Pierre Bonis, the AFNIC CEO, for the support AFNIC is providing in the context of the Coalition’s capacity building efforts.
● Ten years ago, ICANN launched an international office strategy that spanned the globe from Africa to Latin America and the Caribbean, from the Middle East to the Asia Pacific.
● The ICANN community has benefited from having three global hubs — in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Brussels, to five regional offices — in Los Angeles, Brussels, Istanbul, Montevideo, and Singapore. And, we have engagement centers in Washington, D.C.; Geneva; Beijing; and Nairobi.
● For example, the function I lead, Global Stakeholder Engagement, is responsible for leading engagement and outreach with stakeholders on ICANN and its mission around the world, and the Government and Intergovernmental Organization Engagement is responsible for the relations with the United Nations and the UN agencies, the European Union institutions, as well as builds and maintains the bilateral relations with Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and engages with ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee.
● The intention is to ensure we provide the best possible service to the community, whose needs vary greatly by location.
● The GSE team provides a point of contact in the regions for the ICANN organization and the ICANN community, raising awareness, providing outreach to increase understanding of ICANN’s role and remit, and driving participation in ICANN policy development and technical activities.
● The GSE team is at the forefront to deliver on ICANN’s commitments and to ensure broad, informed participation reflecting the functional, geographic and cultural diversity of the Internet.
● The GE team addresses the delicate issues surrounding governments and IGOs, which constantly discuss topics that touch on ICANN’s mission. The United Nations, the ITU and others have a number of working groups and committees, which are engaged in regular Internet-related deliberations, and we are constantly engaged with information sharing and outreach efforts to make sure they don’t undermine the technical functioning of the single, interoperable Internet. I’d like to point out that France is among the countries at these IGOs, which understands well the importance of these deliberations, and is actively engaged in them.
[Sébastien Bachollet]
Where do you see ICANN in 10 years’ time?
[Sally Costerton]
● ICANN will continue to focus on carrying out its mission to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems, including the DNS.
● We also will continue to contribute to building a more linguistically diverse internet and working toward digital inclusivity.
● To that end, we will be focusing on areas of the globe that are anticipated to have the biggest growth in Internet use.
○ One of fastest-growing online populations is in Africa, with the Republic of Congo leading the charge.
● The ICANN multistakeholder community must continue to work together to ensure the policies that govern the technical aspects of the Internet are globally adopted.
● We will have launched the next round of new gTLDs and will continue to add new gTLDs to the root, expanding choice, competition, and access.
● And finally, the multistakeholder model will continue to evolve in terms of its global representation and inclusivity.
[Sébastien Bachollet]
Thanks, Sally, for you answers and for your participation to this French IGF.
We wish you the best for the future for ICANN and for you.
See you in Hamburg the next ICANN meeting taking place from the 21 to the 26 of October 2023 one week after the Global IGF in Kyoto — Japan.
