US endorses plan to cede Internet oversight
Glenn Chapman June 8, 2016
San Francisco (AFP) - The US administration on Thursday
endorsed a plan to cede its oversight of the gatekeeper of Internet addresses
to the broader online community.
Commerce Department assistant secretary for
communications and information Lawrence Strickling told AFP that the proposal
from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meets the
criteria set by the US administration.
The plan aims to maintain Internet governance under a
"multi-stakeholder" model which avoids control of the online
ecosystem by any single governmental body.
"The Internet's multi-stakeholder community has
risen to the challenge we gave them to develop a transition proposal that would
ensure the Internet's domain name system will continue to operate as seamlessly
as it currently does," Strickling said.
US oversight of ICANN had "irritated" some
governments, which used what was Strickling depicted as a mainly clerical
responsibility to vie for greater control of the Internet.
The plan comes in response to the US government's March
2014 announcement that it would transition "stewardship" of online
domain name system technical functions from the Commerce Department to a body
that would fairly represent all parties with interests in a vibrant and healthy
Internet.
Motivation behind the transition is to "preserve a
free and open Internet," according to Strickling.
- Avoiding fragmentation -
Concern has been expressed over the years that a perception
that the United States is holding the reins of the Internet could prompt other
countries to form their regional "domains," creating a potential for
fragmentation.
The proposal crafted over the course of two years with
input from businesses, academia, governments and others was endorsed by ICANN
in March.
Strickling declined to call his agency's report endorsing
the plan an "approval," referring to it instead as a favorable
"assessment."
The proposed new system is being tested in parallel with
the existing one to see if it works on a practical level.
The plan will not affect how users interact online, but
will turn over the technical supervision of the online address system to ICANN
itself, with a system of checks and balances so no single entity can exert
control over the Internet, according to officials involved in the process.
Officials say the US government supervision is symbolic
and dates back to the creation of the Internet. Yet ICANN officials maintain
the new governance model will instill confidence around the world in the
Internet's independence.
If the US government formally approves the plan, then a
contract between ICANN and the US government will be allowed to naturally
expire on September 30.
ICANN board chairman Stephen Crocker told AFP in an
earlier interview that he did not expect Internet users to notice any change.
But some US lawmakers have been less than enthusiastic
about the plan.
Last year, Republican Senator John Thune warned at a
hearing that a privatized ICANN could become "accountable to no one."
Strickling said his agency is prepared for discussions
with lawmakers to get them comfortable with the plan.
"To the extent that people think the US has been the
guardian of the free and open Internet, I think, overall, we have relied on the
community," Strickling said.
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