Welcome to ICANN69!

Welcome to ICANN69, our 3rd COVID-19 induced Virtual ICANN Meeting and to another special edition of your popular ICANN Business Constituency (BC) Newsletter. 

This edition is special because it is my last edition as the Vice-Chair, Finance and Operations of the BC having taken over its editorial on my election in January 2014. Produced to coincide with every ICANN meeting (except on few occasions) since June 2003, this is therefore the 44th edition since its inception and the 23th during my tenure. For a review of past editions, please visit https://www.bizconst.org/newsletter.

Over the past 7 years, I've had the pleasure of working with many remarkable BC Officers and members who have contributed significantly to the content of the Newsletter over time including Marilyn Cade and Chris Chaplow (who I succeeded as Vice-Chair, F/O); former BC Chairs Elisa Cooper, Chris Wilson, Andrew Mark, current Chair, Claudia Selli, Barbara Wanner, our dynamic Commercial Stakeholder (CSG) Representative; and the sagacious and erudite Vice Chair Policy Coordination, Steve DelBianco. Another key source of content has been the BC Outreach reports evolving from the annual BC Outreach Strategy.

It is interesting to note that I joined the BC through the Africa ICT Alliance - AfICTA, being the first African organization member of the BC. Over the period of my membership, 12 new members (19% of membership) have joined the BC thereby broadening the diversity of the BC as a representative of global business users (running into millions of businesses both Large, Medium and Small companies) of the Internet in the ICANN Community.

Apart from being the editor of this Newsletter, I've had the pleasure of overseeing BC Finances and Operations in line with Section 2.5.2 of the BC Charter. I also contributed to a number BC public comments which I found in most cases to be educative and stimulating; and in sync with my interest in the BC which is to ensure that ICANN Policy position promotes an Internet that is technically stable, secure and resilient.

Indeed, the BC in my opinion has played a pivotal role in assuring that ICANN-BC mission; and in seeing to the crucial transition of the USG oversight stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function to the global Internet Community on October 1st, 2016.

Of real concern to global business including businesses in the developing countries however is the impact of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to legitimate access to Whois data for business survival. Since access to WHOIS database has been cut off on May 25, 2018, efforts have been made to engender an orderly access to the data but sadly nothing is working. It is my hope that a balanced solution would be arrived at. Infact, one of our members who actively engage in the expedited Policy Development Processes (ePDP1&2) Alex Deacon penned an interesting article contained in this edition that illuminates the state of the process and business concerns for the outcomes for which mitigating DNS Abuse and Cybersecurity challenges are apparent gaps. 

I'd like to pay tribute to Phillip Shepherd and Gary Hills of AIM, who started the Newsletter in 2003; to Chantelle Doerksen, the BC Secretariat; and Cheryl Gatward, the designer; and many others not mentioned here who had contributed to the Newsletter’s success story over time. I say thank you for your service to the Community as I do look forward to the sustenance of the rich content of the Newsletter going forward.

Do keep safe and well; and ‘enjoy’ ICANN69!

- Jimson Olufuye