Re: [arch-d] Draft IAB conflict of interest policy

[S Moonesamy <[e-mail]>]

Hello,
At 03:14 PM 08-01-2020, IAB Chair wrote:
>In carrying out their IAB role, Covered 
>Individuals must act in the best interest of the 
>Internet community. Occasionally this duty may 
>be—or may appear to be—incompatible or in

IThe "best interest of the Internet community" 
can be quite subjective.  I'll use the recent 
"open letter" as an example.  I would probably 
decline to sign it.  That does not mean that a 
person who signs it would be acting against the 
best interest of the Internet community.

>conflict with a a Covered Individual's personal 
>interests (including interests of their family 
>members), or the interests of an organization of 
>which the Covered Individual is an employee, 
>director, owner, or otherwise has business or 
>financial interest. If a Covered Individual has 
>a conflict of interest for whatever reason, that 
>individual must avoid participating in the work 
>of the IAB that touches on the related matter.

The proposed policy may also conflict with the 
IAB Charter as it states that the members shall 
owe no fiduciary duty of loyalty or care to 
...  One of the members of the IAB is a director 
of the IETF Administration LLC.  Does that create 
a situation where the person could be in conflict [1]?

>The IAB does not directly deal with matters 
>relating to contracts or finance. The IAB does, 
>however, have a role in personnel decisions, and 
>its decisions and outputs have a potential to 
>indirectly affect contracts within the IETF 
>system. IAB's technical decisions and outputs 
>have also a potential to impact both work 
>elsewhere in the IETF and businesses that employ 
>or develop Internet technology.

The above is related to the IETF Administration 
LLC instead of the IETF.  It could be interpreted 
as meaning that the IAB can exercise undue 
influence on the decisions of the IETF Administration LLC.

>Covered Individuals shall not use the IAB's 
>resources or decisions as a means for personal or third-party gain.
>
>Disclosure of Actual or Potential Conflicts
>
>The IAB requires that all Covered Individuals 
>disclose their main employment, sponsorship, 
>consulting customer, or other sources of income 
>when joining the IAB or whenever there are updates.
>
>In addition, when a topic is discussed at the 
>IAB, the Covered Individuals are required to 
>promptly disclose if that topic constitutes a 
>perceived or potential conflict of interest. 
>Once disclosed, Covered Individuals may recuse 
>from participation in discussions or decisions at their discretion.

What if the individual decides that he/she does 
not need to recuse himself/herself from the decision-making process?

If I am not mistaken, the term used in such 
policies is "material interest" [2].  My 
understanding of the draft is that the "material 
interests" are covered under the "Activity on the 
IAB involves discussion and decisions regarding 
..." paragraph.  Is that correct?

Regards,
S. Moonesamy

1. It is dependent on the interpretation of the text.
2. The interest is not only considered in terms of contracts.