• ICANN’s neutrality is challenged by CEO Kurtis Lindqvist’s actions, including interference with AFRINIC leadership and the ICP-2 document.
  • ICANN must revise the ICP-2 document, stop influencing AFRINIC’s leadership, and collaborate on a potential AFRINIC replacement to ensure regional stability.

ICANN’s neutral mandate and tensions from Lindqvist-led actions

ICANN’s main responsibility is to keep neutrality in global internet governance. It must also protect the bottom-up decision-making model. This model lets regions like Africa manage their own IP resources.

This mandate is key to regional control of digital infrastructure. Digital infrastructure drives Africa’s internet development. But in the AFRINIC crisis, actions linked to new CEO Kurtis Lindqvist have created tensions with this neutral role.

Lindqvist has pushed a global agenda. This agenda seems to ignore Africa’s need to govern its own IP resources. The agenda has led to steps that risk ICANN overstepping its limits. One example is supporting efforts to influence AFRINIC’s leadership selection. This task is not part of ICANN’s stated work and threatens Africa’s bottom-up governance.

The ICP-2 compliance document’s adoption also ties to Lindqvist’s leadership. This document skipped ICANN’s own multistakeholder processes. It gave the organization new power to de-recognize regional internet registries (RIRs) like AFRINIC. Many see this document as a tool to expand control. It goes against ICANN’s duty to prioritize inclusive, region-led choices.

Also read: ICP-2 to the rescue? What happens if AFRINIC dissolves

Trust gaps and regional uncertainty

Decisions linked to Kurtis Lindqvist’s leadership have directly affected ICANN’s ties with African stakeholders. They have also hurt the stability of Africa’s IP ecosystem.

Lindqvist has advocated for ICANN to exert greater influence over AFRINIC. This includes possible interference in AFRINIC’s leadership. His actions have made African parties react negatively. These stakeholders see such moves as an external threat. They risk losing control over key digital resources. These resources are needed for internet connectivity and digital infrastructure growth.

AFRINIC already faces a governance crisis. It has unworkable election standards and less trust in its management. Lindqvist-led moves have made this crisis worse. They shift focus from supporting regional solutions to expanding ICANN’s authority.

Also read: Kurtis Lindqvist steps in: ICANN CEO challenges AFRINIC election

ICANN’s path to fulfilling responsibility

ICANN must meet its responsibility during regional power struggles and the AFRINIC crisis. To do this, it must fix missteps tied to Kurtis Lindqvist’s leadership. It must also get back to its neutral mandate.

First, ICANN must revise the ICP-2 compliance document. It needs to do this through full multistakeholder engagement. This engagement must put African stakeholders’ input first. This step reverses the choice linked to Lindqvist. That choice skipped inclusive processes. It also ensures compliance rules do not become tools for ICANN to overstep into regional IP governance.

Second, ICANN must tell Lindqvist to stop any efforts to influence AFRINIC’s leadership selection. Respecting Africa’s right to bottom-up governance for its IP resources is necessary for ICANN’s neutral role. It means stopping the CEO’s push for external control.

Third, ICANN should work with the NRO (Number Resource Organization). They need to prepare a possible replacement for AFRINIC. This is only if AFRINIC’s governance crisis cannot be fixed. This action matches legitimate stakeholder demands. One example is demands from Cloud Innovation Ltd. It focuses on stabilizing Africa’s IP management instead of expanding ICANN’s power.