Commercial Stakeholder Group

The Commercial Stakeholders Group (CSG) represents the views of commercial Internet users and all relevant sectors of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, including but not limited to large and small business entities, business organizations, ISPs, intellectual property owners, and IP organizations.

The main mission of the CSG is to see to it that the policies framed by ICANN contribute toward making the Internet a safe place for the Business-to-Business and Business-to-Customers transactions and communications.

Roles and Responsibilities

The CSG monitors ICANN-wide policy and procedural issues, including the Policy Development Process and related Working Groups, for areas of common interest, and provide CSG coordination and action when appropriate. Also when appropriate, the CSG develops and issues statements reflecting the joint opinion of its members on such ICANN-wide matters. It creates Working Groups as needed, made up of members of its member Constituencies, for the consideration of CSG or ICANN-wide issues.

To its member Constituencies, the CSG provides useful advice on adopting or creating any new Constituency-based Charter in order to ensure compliance with the CSG Charter, as well as organizing the sharing of administration or management resources between Constituencies who wish to share them.

The CSG also plans and chairs meetings, including meetings that involve the Non-Contracted Parties House (NCPH) or other groups. The Commercial Stakeholders Group and ICANN carry out in-meetings on a regular basis. In these meetings, the CSG provides advice and recommendations with respect to the consensus policies within ICANN that relate to enhancing the technical reliability and stable operation of the internet or the DNS.

Structure

The Commercial Stakeholder Group is the umbrella organizations within the GNSO for the Business Constituency, the Intellectual Property Interests Constituency, and the ISP Constituency.

Membership

CSG membership is open to all parties recognized under Article X of the ICANN Bylaws, which are:

• Internet Service and Connectivity Providers, represented by the Intellectual Property Constituency
• Commercial and Business Users, represented by the Business Constituency
• Intellectual Property Interests, represented by the ISP Constituency

Members do not have to pay any kind of fee for membership in the CSG.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the CSG consists of one appointed person and one alternate from each constituency. These representatives shall serve a renewable term of one year. The Committee is to act as liaison between the CSG and the NCPH, the CSG and ICANN, and the CSG and its internal constituencies.

The current Executive Committee is:

• Barbara Wanner - BC
• Dean Marks - IPC
• Wolf-Ulrich Knoben - ISPCP
• Claudia Selli
• Brian Winterfeldt (SOI) / IPC - Alternate
• Tony Harris (SOI/ISPCP) / ISPCP – Alternate

Alternates

• Claudia Selli - BC
• Brian Winterfeldt - IPC
• Tony Harris - ISPCP

GNSO Council Representatives

Six members of the CSG are selected by the CSG Executive Committee to serve as part of the GNSO Council. Two members are drawn from each of the Stakeholder Group's three Constituencies, no more than three of the six may come from the same Geographical Region, and the terms are to be staggered Current members are:

• Susan Kawaguchi (SOI) – North America / October 2014 – AGM 2016
• Paul McGrady (SOI) – IPC / North America / October 2015 – AGM 2017
• Heather Forrest – GNSO Chair (SOI) – Asia Pacific / October 2017 – AGM 2018
• Philippe Fouquart (SOI) EU (AGM 2018)
• Tony Harris (SOI) - ISPCP / Latin AC / October 2015 – AGM 2017

See also

• NCSG

Commercial Stakeholder Group. Represents the full range of large and small commercial entities of the Internet, including the Business Constituency, Intellectual Property Constituency and the Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers Constituency (ICANN Bylaws).

Internet Service Provider

Intellectual Property Constituency

ISPs and Connectivity Providers Constituency

Generic Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains and other responsibilities set forth in the Bylaws (ICANN Bylaws).