February 4, 2016
Chief Executive Officer
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
12025 Waterfront Drive, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90094-2536
Dear Mr. Chehade:
On March 14, 2014, the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (“NTIA”) announced its intent to relinquish
oversight of Internet domain name functions to the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the “global stakeholder community.”
When testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
you stated that “NTIA’s announcement preserves and prolongs the free and open
Internet that has brought so much economic growth and social and cultural
development.”
Given your assurance to preserve and prolong the free and
open Internet, we were surprised and dismayed to learn that you have agreed to
co-chair a high-level advisory committee for the World Internet Conference,
which is organized by the Chinese government, while you serve as the Chief
Executive Officer of ICANN under contract with the United States Government.
As you must know, the World Internet Conference is not a
beacon of free speech. It has been
heavily criticized by members of the press for refusing to allow China-based
reporters for the New York Times and Washington Post to cover the conference.
Reporters Without Borders demanded an international boycott of the conference,
calling China the “enemy of the Internet.” In addition, GreatFire co-founder,
Charlie Smith, described foreign guests of the Conference as “complicit actors
in the Chinese censorship regime and are lending legitimacy to Lu Wei, CAC and
their heavy-handed approach to Internet governance. They are, in effect,
helping to put all Chinese who stand for their constitutional right to free
speech behind bars.”
ICANN’s participation in the World Internet Conference is
especially concerning because of the Chinese government’s long and established
record of restricting free access to the Internet, censoring content, and
criminalizing certain forms of online speech. Just recently, Freedom House, an
independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and
democracy around the world, released their report “Freedom on the Net 2015” in
which China was ranked last in the world for Internet freedom. Not only has
China used the Internet as means of surveillance within its borders, but some
believe that Chinese hackers may be responsible for a breach of U.S. Government
databases at the Office of Personnel Management, which resulted in the theft of
personal information of more the 22 million Americans.
Also concerning is the membership of the Conference’s
advisory committee on which you have agreed to serve. Your co-chair, for instance, is Jack Ma,
founder of China’s Internet giant Alibaba, which is currently helping the
Chinese government develop a “social credit system” to monitor and score the
behavior of individuals and businesses in China.
In addition, some of the
members of the committee, such as the United Nations’ International Telecommunication
Union, the League of Arab States, the Russian Safe Internet League, and the
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology of Iran, represent
countries whose policies have undermined a free and open Internet.
Finally, your participation as a co-chair of the committee
raises concerns about a personal conflict of interest while you serve as the
Chief Executive Officer of ICANN under contract with the United States
Government. According to federal regulations, a personal conflict of interest is
defined as “a situation in which a covered employee has a financial interest,
personal activity or relationship that could impair the employee’s ability to
act impartially and in the best interest of the Government when performing
under the contract.”
Potential
sources of personal conflicts are gifts, including travel; compensation,
including wages, salaries, commission, professional fees, or fees for business
referrals; other employment or financial relationships (including seeking or
negotiating for prospective employment or business); and consulting
relationships (including commercial and professional consulting and service
arrangements, scientific and technical advisory board memberships, or serving
as an expert witness in litigation).
In order to gain a better understanding of the potential
implications for the United States Government of your service on the advisory
committee for the World Internet Conference, we request that you provide a
response to the following questions as soon as possible, but no later than 9:00
a.m. on Friday, February 19, 2016.
1. On December 23,
2015, in an ICANN blog post, you announced that you would be serving as the
co-chair of a newly formed advisory committee to the World Internet Conference
in Wuzhen. In that blog post, you noted that “the first meeting of the committee
will take place in Summer 2016.” However, a World Internet Conference press
release on December 21, 2015, announcing the advisory committee stated that
“[t]he advisory committee held its first meeting on the sidelines of the second
WIC in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province.”
a. Please provide a yes-or-no answer to the following
question: Did the advisory committee meet in Wuzhen during the second World
Internet Conference? If yes, did you participate?
b. What was discussed during the meeting? Specifically, did
the advisory committee discuss the IANA transition or the role of the United
States Government?
c. Do you believe that advisory committee participants share
the United States’ view of a free and open Internet?
2. Did ICANN’s Board of Directors approve your attendance
and participation at the World Internet Conference?
3. When did you first notify ICANN’s Board of Directors that
you had agreed to serve as a co-chair of the advisory committee for the World
Internet Conference?
4. Have you notified the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) or any official within the United States
Government regarding your commitment to serve as a co-chair of the advisory
committee? If yes, please list who you notified and the date of the
notification.
a. Have you notified NTIA of any personal conflicts of
interest? If yes, please describe the conflicts discussed and if such conflicts
will be addressed.
5. In your December 23, 2015 blog post you stated, “I have
accepted an appointment with a financial institution, and in addition, I’ve
been invited to serve in several part-time advisory roles post ICANN.” Please
list these advisory role offers.
6. Have you received any financial compensation or
reimbursement including travel, wages, salaries, commission, or professional
fees in your capacity as co-chair for the advisory committee?
7. Have you sought, negotiated, or discussed prospective
employment or business opportunities with the Chinese government or any member
of the advisory committee?
8. Given the Chinese government’s history of censorship and
suppression of free speech, is it appropriate to participate in the World
Internet Conference while serving as the Chief Executive Officer of ICANN?
9. Do you believe that your attendance and participation in
the World Internet Conference makes ICANN complicit in the Chinese censorship
regime?
We appreciate your cooperation in this very important matter
and look forward to your response at the stated date and time. Please contact Sean McLean (Senator Cruz),
Sarah Seitz (Senator Lankford), and Christy Knese (Senator Lee) of our staffs
if there are any questions regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Ted Cruz
United States Senator
James Lankford
United States Senator
Michael S. Lee
United States Senator
cc: Dr. Steve Crocker, Chair, Board of Directors, Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
The Honorable Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary
for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce
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