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The Clock Is Ticking For the US To Relinquish Control of ICANN (betanews.com)

Posted by timothy on from the independence-day dept.

Mark Wilson writes: The U.S. is not afraid to throw its weight around; it likes not only to be involved in things, but to be in control. For decades, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) — the non-profit organization that manages IP addresses and domain names — has been overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, much to the chagrin of people around the world. Most upset are those who point to the independent nature of the internet, and the need for any body with global power to be similarly indpendent. Later this year ICANN is set — at long last — to completely separate from the U.S. government.

While this does hinge on U.S. government approval, by the end of September, ICANN could instead be in the hands of businesses, individuals, and multiple global governments. While the changing of hands should not alter the way ICANN operates, it is hoped that it will go some way to restoring faith that may have been lost after revelations about online surveillance by the NSA and other U.S. government agencies.

3 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Is there a problem here? by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "While the changing of hands should not alter the way ICANN operates, it is hoped that it will go some way to restoring faith that may have been lost after revelations about online surveillance by the NSA and other U.S. government agencies."

    Really? What do these two issues have to do with each other? Does the NSA somehow have a leg up on the competition because another US agency doles out IP address blocks?

    Smells like anti-US idiocy, and I say that as someone who's not real thrilled with the NSA's activities.

    --
    Do you have ESP?
    1. Re:Is there a problem here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yes, it's hip especially in Europe to have anti-US sentiment. But of course the real reason for all this is not about stopping NSA spying. It's that politicians abroad don't know any better about tech one way or another any better than US politicians, and if they hear ICANN is vulnerable to spying, then what is really happening is that they want their piece of the pie. The point of the anti-US sentiment is to make people in Europe believe that this is solely an American phenomena, and so it couldn't happen there. It's always entertaining to watch citizens of those countries gasp in shock when they hear their country does the same things, and is often in fact in cooperation with the NSA.

  2. The way ICANN operates WILL change by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...While the changing of hands should not alter the way ICANN operates...

    If the parties involved did not want the way ICANN operates to change, then why have they gone through such an effort in order to effect this change in the pecking order for ICANN?

    .
    fwiw, the efforts to pry ICANN away from US control have been going on since long before the NSA became a household name....