US Relinquishes Control of Internet

PapaG · Oct 2, 2009

I'm sure somebody will explain to me the upside of this arrangement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/30/icann-agreement-us

After complaints about American dominance of the internet and growing disquiet in some parts of the world, Washington has said it will relinquish some control over the way the network is run and allow foreign governments more of a say in the future of the system.

Icann – the official body that ultimately controls the development of the internet thanks to its oversight of web addresses such as .com, .net and .org – said today that it was ending its agreement with the US government.

The deal, part of a contract negotiated with the US department of commerce, effectively pushes California-based Icann towards a new status as an international body with greater representation from companies and governments around the globe.

Icann had previously been operating under the auspices of the American government, which had control of the net thanks to its initial role in developing the underlying technologies used for connecting computers together.

But the fresh focus will give other countries a more prominent role in determining what takes place online, and even the way in which it happens – opening the door for a virtual United Nations, where many officials gather to discuss potential changes to the internet.

Icann chief Rod Beckstrom, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Washington insider who took over running the organisation in July, said there had been legitimate concerns that some countries were developing alternative internets as a way of routing around American control.

"It's rumoured that there are multiple experiments going on with countries forking the internet, various countries have discussed this," he said. "This is a very significant shift because it takes the wind out of our opponents."

He added that the changes would prove powerful when combined with upcoming plans to allow web users to use addresses with names in Chinese, Arabic or other alphabets other than Latin. Many countries have lobbied for the shift in recent years, as the expansion of the web reaches out deeper into society and business.

While the issue reached critical mass in emerging economies such as China, it is not the only country that has lobbied for a change. Earlier this year European officials said that they did not think it was proper for America to retain so much control over the global computer network.

Viviane Reding, the EU's commissioner for information society and media, said she was pleased that Washington chose to make the shift.

"I welcome the US administration's decision to adapt Icann's key role in internet governance to the reality of the 21st century," she said. "If effectively and transparently implemented, this reform can find broad acceptance among civil society, businesses and governments alike."

Meanwhile Nominet - the British organisation that handles the day-to-day running of .uk domain names - said that Icann had started a trend for companies with internet influence to appear more open and accountable.

"Putting public interest first will also be a focus for the UK internet community over the coming months as there is growing support for Nominet to develop more of a public interest role," said Nominet's chief executive, Lesley Cowley.

The new agreement comes into force immediately. It replaces the old version which had been in place since 1998 and was scheduled to expire today.

Beckstrom suggested that bringing more countries to the table was the best way of ensuring the long term future of the internet.

"We're more global, period. The chances of the internet holding together just went up, the cohesion just went up," he said. "We expect more active involvement from governments, a higher level of participation from many governments and we're already hearing about more governments joining the team… This was, ironically, a power move from the US."
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maxiep · Oct 2, 2009

WTF?

BTOWN_HUSTLA · Oct 2, 2009

so no more kill switch for obama?

BTOWN_HUSTLA · Oct 2, 2009

don't really get what this means really....is this more for foreign countries being able to register .com, .net and .org domain names? that's all taht ICANN basically does, and then how are they going to verify foreign registration, current ICANN rules state that i have to update my records yearly. no more?

This could get into some iffy legal issues with copyrights and international Intellectual property IMO. Kind of a stupid move from the outside, looking in, as many countries have their own domain extensions and the system seemed to be working fine.

PapaG · Oct 2, 2009

BTOWN_HUSTLA said: ↑

don't really get what this means really....is this more for foreign countries being able to register .com, .net and .org domain names? that's all taht ICANN basically does, and then how are they going to verify foreign registration, current ICANN rules state that i have to update my records yearly. no more?

This could get into some iffy legal issues with copyrights and international Intellectual property IMO. Kind of a stupid move from the outside, looking in, as many countries have their own domain extensions and the system seemed to be working fine.
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This is why I asked if someone could explain this to me. I don't know what this means, other than the US is apparently giving up some sort of control over the domain names the we currently register.

BTOWN_HUSTLA · Oct 2, 2009

Yeah, I think the implication here is that other countries can start offering domain registration...i think this may raise prices to register domain names (not good) and encourage rampant domain squatting (not good). just guesses, I don't keep up with this crap at all.....I'm worried about more scams being perpetrated with the .org domain names, especially from out of the country.....its very easy to mask registrations and when there is less oversight and you open it up to the world, things get a bit strange.

MrJayremmie · Oct 3, 2009

Down with the socialist, MArxist, communist, kenyan, muslim!

BLAZER PROPHET · Oct 3, 2009

We could just give the internet back to Al Gore.

MARIS61 · Oct 3, 2009

It should speed up the development of cross translation, which would be neat. Go to a Nepalese message board and it all appears on your pc in English. That is the only upside I see. Having competing GOVERNMENTS, many of them of evil inception and intent towards their own populace and ours, could severely hamper the current freedom's we have to post and surf subjects without censorship. There is already way too much of that from our own government.

Too bad government is involved at all at this point.

Shooter · Oct 3, 2009

This is just another way for Obama to "apologize" to the rest of the world for the creativity and innovation of American capitalism. Anytime we come up with anything really good, we must share it with the rest of the world and decrease our own power, just to make sure we don't hurt anybody's feelings.

Obama will give away everything we own, including the State of Liberty, if we let him.

MrJayremmie · Oct 3, 2009

Obama will give away everything we own, including the State of Liberty, if we let him.
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Especially our freedom!

GO BaCK TO KENYA!

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US Relinquishes Control of Internet

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US Relinquishes Control of Internet

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