ICANN Empowered Community

ICANN Empowered Community is an organizational effort to ensure transparency as well as serves as a mechanism for the community to understand the powers being exercised and process progress throughout.

The Empowered Community (EC) is the post IANA Transition body that provides oversight of ICANN and a mechanism to enforce the community’s powers. It is incorporated as a nonprofit association in the State of California and bestows the power to legally enforce the community’s powers under California law in the hands of ICANN’s Supporting Organizations (SOs) and two of the Advisory Committees (ACs).

The EC consists of 5 Decisional Participants, which include:

• Address Supporting Organization (ASO)
• Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO)
• Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)
• At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
• Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)

The EC acts through the Empowered Community Administration, which is composed of five representatives, with one appointed by each Decisional Participant. The Administration’s primary roles include supporting the EC’s Powers by:

• Receiving and sending notifications and communications that are required in exercising its powers and/or requirements
• Moderating Conference Calls and Community Forums
• Tallying decision of the Decisional Participants

Additionally, in the community mediation process, which is used when the Board refuses or fails to comply with a valid EC decision, the EC Administration is responsible for:

• Appointing representatives to represent the Empowered Community in mediation

Selecting the slate of potential mediators from representatives appointed by Empowered Community Administration and Board-appointed mediation representatives.

Empowered Community Powers

I. Appoint and remove individual Directors (other than the President);

II. Recall the entire Board;

III. Reject ICANN Budgets, IANA Budgets, Operating Plans and Strategic Plans;

IV. Reject Standard Bylaw Amendments;

V. Approve Fundamental Bylaw Amendments, Articles Amendments and Asset Sales;

VI. Reject Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) Governance Actions

VII. Require the ICANN Board to re-review its rejection of IANA Function Review (IFR) Recommendation Decisions, Special IFR Recommendation Decisions, Separation Cross-Community Working Group (SCWG) Creation Decisions and SCWG Recommendation Decisions;

VIII. Initiate a Community Reconsideration Request, mediation or a Community Independent Review Process (IRP);

IX. Take necessary and appropriate action to enforce its powers and rights, including through the various procedures provided within the community mechanism or an action filed in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

Address Supporting Organization. Advises the Board with respect to policy issues relating to the operation, assignment, and management of Internet addresses (ICANN Bylaws).

Country Code Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ICANN Bylaws).

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).

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

Public Technical Identifiers

Independent Review Process