IP Justice » Internet Governance

August 2008
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Background on Internet Governance

“Internet Governance” discussions often center around ownership or control of the Internet’s DNS root server, or “the root”. But a broader “Internet governance” debate includes an examination of the laws, policies, technologies, and customs that regulate the way in which we use the Internet. Currently, the United States Department of Commerce “controls” the Internet’s root server through its contractual relations with the California non-profit corporation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). But many in the international community are displeased with a single country maintaining sole control over the Internet’s DNS root server, since the Internet is a shared global resource. Some developing countries are pushing for Internet governance under the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is multi-national. The US, Europe, and Japan continue to support the Internet management by ICANN. Developing countries are unhappy with ICANN, which is an undemocratic private California corporation that wields enormous power over the governance of the Internet — a part of any nation’s vital infrastructure. ICANN’s legitimacy has been in doubt since its creation, and its tendency to favor large trademark owners at the expense of Internet users’ rights continues to worry Western consumers and developing countries alike. The inordinate level of influence that the United States Government exercises in ICANN policy making is also of concern to the international community. But even with the general dissatisfaction with ICANN, there is little reason to believe that the ITU would be an improvement and would probably be worse when it comes to protecting freedom of expression values. . . .