Google - AFP, Rob
Lever (AFP), 15 March 2014
 |
A picture
taken on March 15, 2013 in Paris shows the screen of a computer
connected on
the internet and displaying a webpage (AFP/File, Lionel Bonaventure)
|
Washington
— The US government announced Friday it was giving up its key role in charge of
the Internet's technical operations, handing over those functions to "the
global multistakeholder community."
The US
Commerce Department said it would seek "to convene global stakeholders to
develop a proposal" for a transition away from US government oversight of
the Internet's domain name system.
The move
"marks the final phase of the privatization" of the Internet domain
system, a statement said.
In 1997,
the Internet domain system was handed over by the US government to the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit group.
The
decision comes with Washington under pressure following revelations about vast
surveillance programs operated by the secretive National Security Agency to
collect data through a variety of methods.
The end of
the US oversight role has no immediate impact for Internet users, and ICANN
will continue to administer the network's key technical functions.
The shift
seeks "to support and enhance the multistakeholder model of Internet
policymaking and governance," said the statement from the Commerce
Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The US
agency's role administering changes to the so-called "root zone" of
databases underlying the Internet makes it a steward of that system, even
though the functions are contracted out to ICANN and the infrastructure company
Verisign.
"The
timing is right to start the transition process," said Assistant Commerce
Secretary Lawrence Strickling.
"We
look forward to ICANN convening stakeholders across the global Internet
community to craft an appropriate transition plan."
The
statement said the US hopes to "support and enhance the multistakeholder
model," and "maintain the openness of the Internet" under any
new system.
ICANN
welcomed the announcement and said it was moving forward on a transition plan.
"We
are inviting governments, the private sector, civil society and other Internet
organizations from the whole world to join us in developing this transition
process," said ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehade.
"All
stakeholders deserve a voice in the management and governance of this global
resource as equal partners."
- ICANN
administrator role unchanged -
ICANN said
its role as administrator of the Internet's unique identifier system remains
unchanged.
"The
Internet's Unique Identifier functions are not apparent to most Internet users,
but they play a critical role in maintaining a single, global, unified and
interoperable Internet." ICANN said.
 |
A screen
shows a rolling feed of new 'Generic Top-Level Domain Names
(gTLDs) which have
been applied for during a press conference hosted by
ICANN in central London,
on June 13, 2012 (AFP/File, Andrew Cowie)
|
But the
change leaves some questions unanswered on the future stewardship of the
Internet.
Daniel
Castro, analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation,
criticized the "negative" move.
"And
the government knows it's negative," he told AFP. "That's why they
released it on a Friday afternoon."
Castro said
the change opens the door to other governments modifying the Internet
architecture for political reasons.
"It's
one thing for the US government to step back," he said.
"The
concern is how do we make it work in practice. Given that other countries have
said they will use the Internet for political purposes this threatens the
long-term stability of the basic technical functions of the Internet."
In a blog
post, Castro said the US has been a force for openness of the Internet.
"Internet
users and businesses worry that countries such as Russia or China may
manipulate ICANN to censor online content that is outside their borders,"
he wrote.
"Currently,
the US government acts as a deterrent... It is unreasonable, however, to expect
all foreign governments to continue to respect ICANN's operating principles in
the absence of the US government's oversight and protection of core
values."
The leaders
of the Internet technical organizations welcomed the news.
"The
transition of the US government stewardship has been envisaged since the early
days of (ICANN) functions contract," said a statement from the World Wide
Web Consortium, Internet Engineering Task Force and other groups.
"This
transition is now feasible due to the maturity of the Internet technical
organizations."
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