Washington said Wednesday that it would give other governments and the private sector a greater oversight role in an organization that oversees the Internet.
The move follows criticism from European regulators and others that the American government could wield too much influence over a system used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Those critics have complained, among other things, about the slow rollout of Internet addresses in languages other than English.
Washington, however, stopped short Wednesday of cutting ties with the organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann. The government agreed instead to establish advisory panels made up of government and private-sector representatives around the world.
The panels will review how open are the decisions made by Icann, whether they reflect the public interest, ensure stability and promote competition for domain names, like those ending in “.com” and other suffixes. Icann decisions could influence what domain names are available, what languages they are in and how much they cost.
“The Internet is on a long-term arch from being 100 percent American to being 100 percent global,” said Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief who joined Icann in July as chief executive. “This is a significant step along that arch to becoming more global.”
Icann has had oversight over domain names under a series of loose agreements with the U.S. government, which financed much of the Internet’s development. The latest expired Wednesday.
Many critics of Icann and its American oversight, including the European Union’s Internet chief, Viviane Reding, saw the expiration as an opportunity to revamp Internet governance.
Ms. Reding praised the new framework in a statement, and said the governments that now have more of a say in Icann should take advantage of the opportunity.
The Commerce Department has a guaranteed seat on only one of those panels, with the remaining representatives to be picked by leaders from Icann and its advisory committee of government officials.
But the panels’ recommendations will not be binding on Icann, and the Commerce Department retains oversight through a separate contract for Icann to handle the nuts-and-bolts of domain name administration. That contract runs through 2011; the new one taking effect Thursday covers Icann’s broader role in setting guidelines and policies.
Icann also agreed to remain a nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States, with offices around the world.
Mr. Beckstrom said some critics abroad might take that to mean Internet governance still is not truly global. But he said the arrangement should ultimately bolster Icann’s standing internationally.
“The U.S. government is saying, ‘O.K., you have become a multistakeholder body. Congratulations. Now on to the next set of challenges,”’ Mr. Beckstrom said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/technology/internet/01icann.html?_r=1
