Internet Commerce Association
| Type: | Non-Profit |
| Industry: | Trade Organization |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Headquarters: | Washington, D.C. |
| Website: | Internetcommerce.org |
| Key People | |
| Mason Cole, Board Member Ron Jackson, Board Member | |
The Internet Commerce Association, or ICA is a Washington based trade organization which seeks to represent the interests of domain name investors and developers and the direct search industry through their education of advertisers, their interest in policy development, and their ability to lobby a diverse group.[1]
The ICA identifies ICANN and the U.S. government as the bodies it tries hardest to monitor and work with; and it claims to be the only trade group working with and within these bodies.[2] The ICA was created in 2006, following the lawsuit between ICANN and VeriSign. They claim that; "After reviewing that back room-negotiated no-bid perpetual contract, domain name monetization industry leaders concluded that permanent representation within ICANN, in Washington, and in other critical decision-making arenas was needed to protect its collective interests".[3]
Agenda
The ICA self-describes its legislative agenda as:
- ICA Member Code of Conduct - The Internet Commerce Association’s (ICA) Member Code of Conduct expresses the ICA’s recognition of the responsibilities of its members to the intellectual property, domain name, and at large Internet communities and will guide members in conducting their domain name investment and development activities with professionalism, respect and integrity.
- Stop reverse domain name hijacking - Respect for trademark owner’s rights must be balanced by registrant’s rights especially for domain names that have generic meaning.
- Promote competitive pricing - for domain name registration and related fees.
- Condemn - click fraud, phishing, child pornography and other types of criminal activity on the internet. Cooperate with other groups who are working to end domain name abuse that is harmful to consumer confidence in internet commerce.
- Internet governance - including the future role and transparency of ICANN, its relationship with the U.S. government, the administration of the generic top level domains (gTLDs) and the rules and laws relating to the WHOIS database.[4]
Finances
ICA runs mainly on donations made by sponsors, members, and interested individuals; therefor fundraising is an ever-present issue at the ICA. In his resignation letter, the former Executive Director, Michael Collins, made it clear that the organization was facing funding issues and implored concerned members and sponsors to evaluate the benefits of having a voice in Washington and ICANN.[5]