Several nations are calling on the United States to give up its power over Internet addresses. But bigger problems loom.
The original grand goal of the United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society, set for next week in Tunis, was to devise a strategy for lifting the developing world into the information age. But another issue has risen to the fore: the European Union has joined other countries in seeking multi-national control of the naming system on the Internet, a job now done by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the California-based organization that oversees the Internet's domain name and addressing system.
All of this discussion over back-end architectures, however, misses the point of the U.N. summit, which should focus on basic questions of access, security, and censorship, according to several U.S. observers.
"I just think it's an amazing collective hallucination that anyone thinks domain names are the point of entry for government regulation, and that debates over their management are worth creating another U.S./rest-of-the-world rift. This is just so 1995," says Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and chair of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University.
"I defy anyone to tell me why domain name management is anything higher than 10 on the list of things we should care about with the governance of the Internet."
Instead, Zittrain would like to see the summitteers do something constructive like pledging to abstain from censoring or filtering Internet content as service comes to new corners of the as-yet-unplugged world. "I would love if [the summit] actually focused on a declaration of principles for the provision of Internet service, emphasizing that neutral carriage of bits is the gold standard," he says.
The row, which has been simmering for years, hit a new level in July 2005, after a U.N. working group recommended that a formal U.N. body comprised of political appointees from around the world replace ICANN. In response, the United States made clear that it is strongly opposed to a global body taking over.
ICANN oversees the domain name and numerical addressing system that keeps the medium humming and allows Web and email users around the world to get where they are going. The organization operates under contract from the U.S. Department of Commerce, hence, it is not directly authorized by the U.S. Congress. Nor is ICANN the subject of any treaty, which would provide a degree of power to treaty signatories from other nations.
Before the EU recently declared that it wanted a say in the name-and-address process, other countries demanding such a role included China, Iran, and Cuba--nations not known for their adherence to principles of free speech.
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Guest (n00b/HaX)
I agree with Roger: Keep Politics out of Internet Policy
"I defy anyone to tell me why domain name management is anything higher than 10 on the list of things we should care about with the governance of the Internet." - Jonathan Zittrain
Honestly there are more pressing issues on the net. Also...
Swinehart says. "There is also a growing understanding of the need to avoid politicizing the Internets technical coordination. Continuing to keep politics out of the day-to-day operations of the Internet will not only continue to ensure user and business certainty, but will also maintain a stable and secure Internet for the worlds users as they come online." If the UN was in charge of the regualtion of IPs then sooner or later the Policies of UN Countries would affect how the UN deals and then contraversy is certain to arrise between certain countries.
Guest (Ali.G and Homeslice)
The Americans should control the ICANN because we came up with it, the U.N. didnt. We have the most people using the Internet which means we should have the control because we know most about it.
Guest (Babalui)
I think it is just another way for Terrorists to infiltrate the USA
Leave ICANN Alone, the international community has no business sticking their nose into what the USA created. Why do they want some control??? Another agenda if you ask me.
Guest (Babalui)
I think it is just another way for Terrorists to infiltrate the USA
Leave ICANN Alone, the international community has no business sticking their nose into what the USA created. Why do they want some control??? Another agenda if you ask me.
Guest (Kareem IrAshid Galamabad)
allah says no international icann
ICANN doesnt need to be international. We dont like america or stuff. keep your icann i dont want it. i will make my own icann. peace out, yo
Guest (HaXoR the Galgamekk)
intergalactic control will remain galgamekk forever Muahhahahahaha
ICANN must not be put to international power. We of the galgamekks know that before long, ICANN would spread to intergalactic power and try to challenge the galgamekk armada for control of the milky way galaxy.
Guest (CogitoErgoSum)
In my opinion the real issue here is that control over the internet extends to the right to tax. The other governments need a level of control to enforce their right to collect money.
This is not a technology or scientific debate. Its about power and money. No suprises there...
Guest (Roger)
Internet is working very well as a independent, free speech propagating medium. I totally agreed that there are many other more important issue concerning the internet that the international committees should be concentrating on. Rather than trying to politicalize who controls who name what try to resolve the digital divide provide ways to protect this voice of freedom and reason encourages better protection to spam and virus provide resources and enviornment that further expand the bandwidth and availbility of access to all. There are so many things that are left to be done, why are we fighting to take away what is already working well for the world?
Guest (n00b/HaX)
I agree with Roger: Keep Politics out of Internet Policy
"I defy anyone to tell me why domain name management is anything higher than 10 on the list of things we should care about with the governance of the Internet." - Jonathan Zittrain
Honestly there are more pressing issues on the net. Also...
Swinehart says. "There is also a growing understanding of the need to avoid politicizing the Internets technical coordination. Continuing to keep politics out of the day-to-day operations of the Internet will not only continue to ensure user and business certainty, but will also maintain a stable and secure Internet for the worlds users as they come online." If the UN was in charge of the regualtion of IPs then sooner or later the Policies of UN Countries would affect how the UN deals and then contraversy is certain to arrise between certain countries.
Guest (Ali.G and Homeslice)
The Americans should control the ICANN because we came up with it, the U.N. didnt. We have the most people using the Internet which means we should have the control because we know most about it.
Guest (Kareem IrAshid Galamabad)
allah says no international icann
ICANN doesnt need to be international. We dont like america or stuff. keep your icann i dont want it. i will make my own icann. peace out, yo
Guest (HaXoR the Galgamekk)
intergalactic control will remain galgamekk forever Muahhahahahaha
ICANN must not be put to international power. We of the galgamekks know that before long, ICANN would spread to intergalactic power and try to challenge the galgamekk armada for control of the milky way galaxy.
Guest (CogitoErgoSum)
In my opinion the real issue here is that control over the internet extends to the right to tax. The other governments need a level of control to enforce their right to collect money.
This is not a technology or scientific debate. Its about power and money. No suprises there...
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Guest (Roger)
Keep Politics out of Internet
Internet is working very well as a independent, free speech propagating medium. I totally agreed that there are many other more important issue concerning the internet that the international committees should be concentrating on. Rather than trying to politicalize who controls who name what try to resolve the digital divide provide ways to protect this voice of freedom and reason encourages better protection to spam and virus provide resources and enviornment that further expand the bandwidth and availbility of access to all. There are so many things that are left to be done, why are we fighting to take away what is already working well for the world?
Reply