[rpd] Correcting some misconceptions about the anti-shutdown policy proposal

[Alan Barrett]

A proposal has been put forward by some individuals in the community, but no decisions have been made.

The AFRINIC community's policy development process is open to all. Anybody can propose a policy, but if it fails to find rough consensus in the community then it will not be implemented. AFRINIC as an organisation has not yet assessed the legal or other ramifications of the policy proposal under discussion.

There are a few misconceptions that I have encountered more than once:

1. It’s a proposal that has entered the early discussion phase, it’s not a policy.

2. The proposal was not made by AFRINIC, it was made by members of the community.

3. The proposal does not suggest that AFRINIC should cut off Internet access in any countries.  It suggests that AFRINIC should stop allocating IP addresses to certain governments and government-related entities under certain circumstances.

4. The proposal does not suggest that AFRINIC should stop allocating IP addresses to ordinary businesses or users in countries that suffer Internet shutdowns; the proposal is targeting only the governments or government-related entities.

Alan Barrett
CEO, AFRINIC