ICANN Budget Questioned

Thing I am writes "The proposed 2004-5 budget for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has hit a snag - the rest of the world is refusing to pay its share of the bill. ICANN last week proposed a budget of $15.8m for next year, nearly twice as much as its current annual expenditure."

Comments

Question about ICANN's place in the world

[Altima(BoB)]

From the article: "ICANN is relying on the fact that Europe's Internet registries (although CENTR, despite its name, represents far more than just European interests) will want to have ICANN in charge more than they will want an international body controlled by governments (the ITU)"

I'm not getting something. Why would a (I presume) for-profit corporation like ICANN be preferable to a system controlled by governments? Honest question, I'm really curious. What does ICANN offer that this ITU doesn't?

Re:Question about ICANN's place in the world

[fractaloon]

Why would a (I presume) for-profit corporation like ICANN be preferable to a system controlled by governments?

Actually, ICANN is a non-profit according to their website. I'm guessing they want to jack up their salaries 20 fold and the easiest way is to try and hold everyone at gunpoint.

Re:Question about ICANN's place in the world

[leerpm]

Because the ITU falls under the control of the UN. At the UN, both the US and Europe have much less influence and control. By handing 'control of the Internet' over to the UN, the developed nations would run the risk of less developed nations using their new found control as a bargaining chip against the US/Europe in other matters.

Personally, I don't really want to see the Internet become an issue that gets rolled into trade negotiations. The Europeans don't want to see ICANN folded into under the wings of the ITU. But they are fed up with the ways things are being run at ICANN, and holding up funding is just a temporary tactic designed to try and bring about some change at ICANN.

Re:Due to lack of funding...

[Zeinfeld]

The only significant new cost in ICANN's budget is littigation.

There would be no real problem with ICANN if there was a rational process for appointing it. The problem here is that a constitution designed for a benevolent dictator is now in the hands of a group of people with the outlook of a US CEO.

This is the sort of thing that happened at the New York Stock Exchange.