Obama Admin Takes Major Step To Handing Off Control of Internet Domain System

Loss of ICANN Control Leaves Many Questions

The control of ICANN is in part due to jealousy that exists towards the U.S. by numerous other nations. There is also the suspicion that the U.S. has somehow benefited from the management of ICANN, though there has been no indications that any improper controls or uses have been implemented. The Obama administration could easily have put up more of a fight to the transition, but because Obama is a blame-America-first kind of guy, he is rolling over on this one.

A nonprofit international group approved a plan and forwarded it to the Obama administration Thursday for review and approval.

A few years ago, the group was tasked with transitioning fully from U.S. government oversight to an international multi-stakeholder model.The Commerce Department will have to sign off on the transition plan before it is allowed to go forward. But the Obama administration and Congress have been “watching closely,” said Steve Crocker, who leads ICANN’s board of directors.

ICANN officials said Thursday the plan should meet the U.S. government’s priorities to protect the open Internet and to prevent any other government from gaining control. It also includes security and accountability measures, they said, and if the plan is implemented, Internet users should see no real difference.

Some Republicans have remained wary of the transition and Congress has blocked government funds from being used to finish the hand-off for the past several years. Last year’s spending blocked the funds from being used until at least October.

In the past, the GOP expressed fear that the U.S. government’s hand-off could allow other nations — specifically those that have a poor track record on Internet freedom — to gain more leverage over the Internet.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and some others have continued to resist the transition. He has said Congress should have to vote before the administration signs off, but he has not succeeded in requiring that. Recently, he has accused the outgoing president of ICANN of having conflicts of interest.

The reality is that once the hand-off has taken place, it will be too late to take control back, even if there are participant countries who find ways to limit or eliminate internet freedom. Of course the next step will also include dramatic increases in fees and access in order to support a new controlling bureaucracy. There is no upside for this transition, but the Obama administration will not do what is necessary to prevent it from happening, and so all we can do is hope for the best and wait for the worst. The golden age of the internet may well be coming to an end.

Source: thehill.com