Globetechnology: U.S. plan to keep control of the Internet draws mixed response

Globetechnology U.S. plan to keep control of the Internet draws mixed response

A decision by the United States to retain oversight indefinitely of the main computers that control Internet traffic drew concerns Friday from foreign officials, many of whom want an international body in charge instead. The U.S. announcement marked a departure from previously stated U.S. policy. Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, shied away from terming the declaration a reversal, calling it instead “the foundation of U.S. policy going forward.” He said the declaration, officially made in a four-paragraph statement posted on-line, was in response to growing security threats and increased reliance on the Internet globally for communications and commerce.

“The signals and words and intentions and policies need to be clear so all of us benefiting in the world from the Internet and in the U.S. economy can have confidence there will be continued stewardship,” Mr. Gallagher told the Associated Press on Thursday.

Europeans urged the United States to explore ways to further decentralize control such that management of country codes are left to local governments and technical administrators, said Paul Kane, chairman of the Council for European and National Top-Level Registries, a Brussels-based coalition of domain name administrators.

Mr. Fujimoto, a Japanese official, indicated that the U.S. decision is likely to alienate many in the international community. “There have been strong opinions that essentially allowing the United States alone to check this process is not right given the nature of the Internet today,” he said.

The declaration will not immediately affect Internet users, but it puts in writing what some critics had already feared. Michael Froomkin, a University of Miami professor who helps run an independent ICANN watchdog site, said the date for relinquishing control has continually slipped.

The announcement comes just weeks before a UN panel is to release a report on Internet governance, addressing such issues as oversight of the root servers, ahead of November's UN World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia.

Ambassador David Gross, the U.S. co-ordinator for international communications and information policy at the State Department, insisted that Thursday's announcement was unrelated to those discussions.