Changes

Following Mr. Thrush's move to Minds + Machines, a number of outside organizations and ICANN stakeholders called for a concrete ethics policy to be set in place, these include: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the [[Association of National Advertisers]], The [[European Commission]], The U.S. [[Department of Commerce]], the French government, and other IP and industry organizations.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/would-an-icann-ethics-policy-break-the-law/ Would an ICANN ethics policy break the law, DomainIncite.com]</ref> ICANN's CEO, [[Rod Beckstrom]] had previously noted at the opening ceremony to ICANN 42, even before Peter Dengate Thrush moved on, that he was encouraged by the fact that the ICANN community was moving to fix the lack of clear ethics rules within the organization. [[AusRegistry]]'s CEO, [[Adrian Kinderis]], later noted the converse fact that without clear ethics policies he and his industry would continue to go after ICANN's most knowledgeable and prepared individuals for their own gain.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/calls-to-fix-new-gtld-revolving-door-at-icann/ Calls to Fix Revolving Door, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

Following Mr. Thrush's move to Minds + Machines, a number of outside organizations and ICANN stakeholders called for a concrete ethics policy to be set in place, these include: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the [[Association of National Advertisers]], The [[European Commission]], The U.S. [[Department of Commerce]], the French government, and other IP and industry organizations.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/would-an-icann-ethics-policy-break-the-law/ Would an ICANN ethics policy break the law, DomainIncite.com]</ref> ICANN's CEO, [[Rod Beckstrom]] had previously noted at the opening ceremony to ICANN 42, even before Peter Dengate Thrush moved on, that he was encouraged by the fact that the ICANN community was moving to fix the lack of clear ethics rules within the organization. [[AusRegistry]]'s CEO, [[Adrian Kinderis]], later noted the converse fact that without clear ethics policies he and his industry would continue to go after ICANN's most knowledgeable and prepared individuals for their own gain.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/calls-to-fix-new-gtld-revolving-door-at-icann/ Calls to Fix Revolving Door, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

Following these developments, ICANN announced it would hire outside ethics experts to review its policies and make recommendations. The decision was made during a September, 2011 meeting of the [[Board Governance Committee]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-to-hire-conflict-of-interest-experts/ ICANN to Hire Conflict of Interest Experts]</ref> This resulted in a new Conflict of Interest Policy for members of the Board and others, released on December 8th, 2011, and effective immediately. The policy requires disclosure to the Board Governance Committee of any and all potential conflicts of interest, and subsequent abstention from ICANN activities related to the conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/committees/board-governance/coi/ ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy]</ref>

Following these developments, ICANN announced it would hire outside ethics experts to review its policies and make recommendations. The decision was made during a September, 2011 meeting of the [[Board Governance Committee]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-to-hire-conflict-of-interest-experts/ ICANN to Hire Conflict of Interest Experts]</ref> This resulted in a new Conflict of Interest Policy for members of the Board and others, released on December 8th, 2011, and effective immediately. The policy requires disclosure to the Board Governance Committee of any and all potential conflicts of interest, and subsequent abstention from ICANN activities related to the conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/committees/board-governance/coi/ ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy]</ref> Board Members also may not join business with a new gTLD registry until 12 months after the registry's application has been voted on.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/12/13/icann-board-dec-minutes ICANN Board December Minutes, dot-nxt.com]</ref>

==References==

==References==