Changes

}}

}}

'''Peter Dengate Thrush''' is a barrister specializing in Internet law, [[Intellectual Property|intellectual property]], and competition. Mr. Thrush is the former Executive Chairman of [[Top Level Domain Ltd]], which is the parent company of [[Minds + Machines]]. He is  a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of [[ICANN]], a positon he held from November, 2007 until June, 2011.  

'''Peter Dengate Thrush''' is a barrister specializing in Internet law, [[Intellectual Property|intellectual property]], and competition. Mr. Thrush is the former Executive Chairman of [[Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd.]], which is the parent company of [[Minds + Machines]]. He is  a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of [[ICANN]], a positon he held from November, 2007 until June, 2011.  

He served multiple terms as Chairman and was elected to his last term following the [[ICANN]] Annual General Meeting in December, 2010.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/thrush.htm Official ICANN Biography for Peter Dengate Thrush]</ref> Mr. Thrush also sat on the [[ICANN]] President's Strategy, Board Finance, Board Governance and Executive committees. During his tenure, Thrush oversaw one of the most important changes to the Internet and TLDs by beginning the process of allowing domains to be registered using non latin characters.<ref>[http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Internet-Addresses-Using-Non-Latin-Characters-Are-Approved/Article/200910415425926 Sky News]</ref> He also chaired the Board as they debated and eventually approved the mode for introducing new gTLDs, the [[.xxx]] debate, and celebrated ICANN's 10th anniversary.<ref>[http://blog.logicboxes.com/tag/peter-dengate-thrush/ Blog.LogicBoxes.com]</ref> His final [[ICANN]] meeting as Chairman, [[ICANN Singapore]], was the historic venue for the approval of the new [[gTLD]] process.

He served multiple terms as Chairman and was elected to his last term following the [[ICANN]] Annual General Meeting in December, 2010.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/thrush.htm Official ICANN Biography for Peter Dengate Thrush]</ref> Mr. Thrush also sat on the [[ICANN]] President's Strategy, Board Finance, Board Governance and Executive committees. During his tenure, Thrush oversaw one of the most important changes to the Internet and TLDs by beginning the process of allowing domains to be registered using non latin characters.<ref>[http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Internet-Addresses-Using-Non-Latin-Characters-Are-Approved/Article/200910415425926 Sky News]</ref> He also chaired the Board as they debated and eventually approved the mode for introducing new gTLDs, the [[.xxx]] debate, and celebrated ICANN's 10th anniversary.<ref>[http://blog.logicboxes.com/tag/peter-dengate-thrush/ Blog.LogicBoxes.com]</ref> His final [[ICANN]] meeting as Chairman, [[ICANN Singapore]], was the historic venue for the approval of the new [[gTLD]] process.

He was influential in establishing what would become the [[ccNSO]] through his work with national and international Internet policy development with New Zealand; he became a board member of that body in December, 2004. The ccNSO subsequently appointed him to the [[ICANN Board]] in 2005, he was elected as the Chairman of that board in 2007, and has gone on to be re-elected three times.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/thrush.htm Official ICANN Biography for Peter Dengate Thrush]</ref>

He was influential in establishing what would become the [[ccNSO]] through his work with national and international Internet policy development with New Zealand; he became a board member of that body in December, 2004. The ccNSO subsequently appointed him to the [[ICANN Board]] in 2005, he was elected as the Chairman of that board in 2007, and has gone on to be re-elected three times.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/biog/thrush.htm Official ICANN Biography for Peter Dengate Thrush]</ref>

===Departure from ICANN and Subsequent Controversy===

===Departure from ICANN and Subsequent Controversy===

Mr. Dengate Thrush left ICANN in June, 2011, about a month later it was announced that he was immediately joining [[Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd]] as its Executive Chairman. Top Level Domain Holdings Limited is the parent company of [[Minds + Machines]]. The move was immediately greeted by both enthusiasm and allegations of misconduct, considering Peter Dengate Thrush's quick move from approving new [[gTLD]]s to effectively selling them. His supporters claim that he will bring a wealth of knowledge to the private sector,<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2011/07/17/outgoing-icann-chairman-peter-dengate-thrush-joining-minds-machines-as-executive-chairman/ TheDomains.com]</ref> while his detractors claim that he compromised ICANN's integrity via a conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20110718.htm DNJournal.com]</ref>

Mr. Dengate Thrush left ICANN in June, 2011, about a month later it was announced that he was immediately joining [[Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd.]] as its Executive Chairman. Top Level Domain Holdings Limited is the parent company of [[Minds + Machines]]. The move was immediately greeted by both enthusiasm and allegations of misconduct, considering Peter Dengate Thrush's quick move from approving new [[gTLD]]s to effectively selling them. His supporters claim that he will bring a wealth of knowledge to the private sector,<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2011/07/17/outgoing-icann-chairman-peter-dengate-thrush-joining-minds-machines-as-executive-chairman/ TheDomains.com]</ref> while his detractors claim that he compromised ICANN's integrity via a conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20110718.htm DNJournal.com]</ref>

Both the U.S. government and the [[European Commission]] took note of Peter Dengate Thrush's questionably timed move from the [[ICANN Board]] to [[Minds + Machines]]. In September, 2011 Senator Ron Wyden of the U.S. Government called for greater ethics rules to be written into the [[IANA]] contract.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/senator-calls-for-icann-ethics-controls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DomainIncite+%28DomainIncite.com%29 Senator Calls for ICANN ethics Controls, DomainIncite.com]</ref> The politicalization of the IANA contract is the sole means that the US Government is still able to exert control over the organization, thus, the European Commission called on the US to amend the same type of controls into the contract. Just a few weeks prior to Ron Wyden's call for ethics controls, a leaked paper by the EC shows them taking up the same issue. They suggest creating new rules in the IANA contract that would prevent those that stand to gain from ICANN decisions from working on the board, to create a two year waiting period for any exiting board member wherein employment in the industry would be prohibited, and they also advocated paying the currently voluntary board to further prevent conflicts of interest from developing.<ref>[http://blog.internetgovernance.org/pdf/ECPaper3-4.pdf EC Paper 3 & 4]</ref>

Both the U.S. government and the [[European Commission]] took note of Peter Dengate Thrush's questionably timed move from the [[ICANN Board]] to [[Minds + Machines]]. In September, 2011 Senator Ron Wyden of the U.S. Government called for greater ethics rules to be written into the [[IANA]] contract.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/senator-calls-for-icann-ethics-controls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DomainIncite+%28DomainIncite.com%29 Senator Calls for ICANN ethics Controls, DomainIncite.com]</ref> The politicalization of the IANA contract is the sole means that the US Government is still able to exert control over the organization, thus, the European Commission called on the US to amend the same type of controls into the contract. Just a few weeks prior to Ron Wyden's call for ethics controls, a leaked paper by the EC shows them taking up the same issue. They suggest creating new rules in the IANA contract that would prevent those that stand to gain from ICANN decisions from working on the board, to create a two year waiting period for any exiting board member wherein employment in the industry would be prohibited, and they also advocated paying the currently voluntary board to further prevent conflicts of interest from developing.<ref>[http://blog.internetgovernance.org/pdf/ECPaper3-4.pdf EC Paper 3 & 4]</ref>