Re: IETF LLC & IETF Participation from USA-sanctioned countries

[Andrew Sullivan <[e-mail]>]

Hi,

ObDisclaimer: I work for the Internet Society (as its CEO) and I'm replying with that background in mind, but this is not an official position of the Internet Society or me speaking with my hat on.  If the IETF in general or IETF LLC wants an official legal opinion, I think it's probably necessary for IETF Counsel to reply, and _maybe_ to talk to ISOC Counsel as well.

On Wed, Mar 03, 2021 at 06:32:22PM -0300, Fernando Gont wrote:

>For example, could it result in participants from Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, 
>North Korea, Sudan or Syria being rejected their registration, and 
>hence being prevented to participate in IETF meetings?

Depending on precisely how one interprets the relevant statutes, one might not even be able to answer that question completely, because (depending on the country or the individual) one might not be allowed to acknowledge that the application to attend was received because even that would be transacting with a person under sanction.  It is certainly possible that such things could happen, though I am definitely not now in a position to say whether they have during the IETF LLC period.  I have good reason to believe that there have been IANA protocol parameters that have had this problem, for what it's worth.

>inappropriate, discriminatory, oppressive, and ultimately 
>unacceptable. I hope that that's not even a possibility.

The problem is that there isn't an alternative to living with OFAC, because the Internet Society is incorporated in the United States and the IETF LLC is (a disregarded entity that is in some sense) a ypart of the Internet Society.  There are structural reasons why incorporating the Internet Society outside that United States is not a practical possibility either, but the reasons for this are probably best discussed on a list about the Internet Society rather than the IETF.

>P.S.: Besides sanctions on countries such as the above, there also 
>seems to be a whole list of people and organizations that are 
>sanctioned/banned: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/specially-designated-nationals-and-blocked-persons-list-sdn-human-readable-lists
>

Yes, it is not just countries.

Best regards,

A

-- 
Andrew Sullivan
[e-mail]