US rejects changes to net control

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: September 30, 2005 10:43:20 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] US rejects changes to net control
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com


 US rejects changes to net control

The US has rejected calls by European Union (EU) officials to give  
control of the net over to a more representative United Nations (UN)  
body.

Wrangling over who should essentially be the net police, managing  
domain names and net traffic routing fairly, has been going on for  
some time.

The matter is supposed to be discussed at November's World Summit on  
the Information Society in Tunisia.

But at a pre-Summit meeting this week, the US said it would resist  
the plans.

In the meeting, the European Union (EU) backed proposals that control  
of the net should be under a more representative body.

"We will not agree to the UN taking over the management of the  
internet," said Ambassador David Gross, the US coordinator for  
international communications and information policy at the State  
Department.

"Some countries want that. We think that's unacceptable."

Fairer sharing

Currently, the US Commerce Department approves any changes to the  
internet's core addressing systems, the root zone files, managed by  
Icann (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

Last month the UN's Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)  
published its proposals for reform of the way the net is run, which  
are to be debated at the Summit.

Governance over the net - the management of its addressing systems  
and traffic routing - has historically been the role of the US  
because it largely funded and pushed its early development.

The US argues that UN proposals would shift the regulatory approach  
from private sector leadership to government, top-down control.

Icann administers domain name and addressing systems, such as country  
domain suffixes. It manages how net browsers and e-mail programs  
direct traffic.

But many countries, particuarly developing nations, have been calling  
for the US to relinquish control, or at least to come up with a  
compromise, to ensure the net is managed more equitably.

Many outside the US argue that no one country should have authority  
over something that plays such a key role in the global economy.

As many developing countries seek to exploit the net for economic and  
social development, the issue has become more pressing.

The UN's WGIG has suggested four alternatives:

    * Option One - create a UN body known as the Global Internet  
Council that draws its members from governments and "other  
stakeholders" and takes over the US oversight role of Icann.

    * Option Two - no changes apart from strengthening Icann's  
Governmental Advisory Committee to become a forum for official debate  
on net issues.

    * Option Three - relegate Icann to a narrow technical role and  
set up an International Internet Council that sits outside the UN. US  
loses oversight of Icann

    * Option Four - create three new bodies. One to take over from  
Icann and look after the net's addressing system. One to be a  
debating chamber for governments, businesses and the public; and one  
to co-ordinate work on "internet-related public policy issues".

The UN World Summit on the Information Society takes place in Tunis,  
Tunisia, between 16 and 18 November.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/4296646.stm

Published: 2005/09/30 10:14:05 GMT

Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>



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