The relationship between the United States government and ICANN, the private non-profit corporation which oversees the assignment of domain names, has often been a thorn in the eyes of the European Union. A recent document issued by the European Commission again advocates a change in internet oversight - but at the same time, the document also states that ICANN has actually been doing a pretty good job.
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Member since:2006-01-18
Actually, after further reading, it looks like this is a tremendously bad idea.
I think a lot of people who read OSNews are from western countries with a pretty decent background in networking and understand the internet better than anyone who wrote this document.
This plainly looks like an attempted power grab by foreign countries (understandable) and not something that would be under UN control.
Having worked abroad on IT projects extensively, the lack of experience in the more nitty-gritty aspects of networking and how the internet functions would most likely cause disastrous committee-based concessions and implementation parameters.
Whoever came up with creating ICANN in America was an absolute genius in that it doesn't have to answer to congress or any other politically run technically ignorant group. This has probably more to do with the internet's success in the last decade than about anything else.
What this document could do which would be a good thing, is perhaps get ICANN to develop backup root zone servers for ipv6 (to calm anyone with legitimate concerns about ICANN being a US nonprofit) that are hosted by the EU and other developing countries.
Member since:2009-06-20
Except if I am mistaken (or too naive), the EU does not attack the ICANN and ask for more meddling in its internals, but rather would like somebody else than the US gov. deciding if the ICANN is good enough to have its bail renewed. Well done, it could lead in fact to a reinforcment of the independance of the ICANN.If the ICANN does not have to answer the US Congress, it would not have to answer the UN (or anybody else oversighting) either, if that should happen.
From the EU document:
"Continuing to pursue an exclusively ‘back-seat’ approach to the development of international
Internet governance practices is therefore not an option. However, this does not mean that
governments need to have any stronger role in managing or controlling the day-to-day
operation of the Internet."
Edited 2009-06-20 18:36 UTC
Member since:2007-09-22
Their are rootservers around the world, their isn't any problem their:
http://www.root-servers.org/
It's the controlling body people have problems with.
Edited 2009-06-21 07:56 UTC
Member since:2005-08-18
Funny, that's exactly how I feel about the arrogant western asses who come over here and think they know everything when they actually don't. (Note: I am a westerner)
Also, much of Europe and Japan, for example, is a lot more ahead than the US in terms of internet deployment, research and understanding.
Edited 2009-06-22 13:52 UTC
Member since:2009-06-20
Well, the US Federal Gov is not very efficient either - the only thing more hated than G.W.Bush by the end of his second term is the US Congress, according to polls. Maybe we should ask the Nederlands to take over? Or Switzerland? Norway? Nigeria?
The UN solution is the one making sense, politically speaking, but yeah, I know it is also a diplomatic trap.
Maybe the UNESCO.
Or an alliance of the CERN and a few other academic/scientific organisations around the world. Y'know, "back to the roots" (the internet & hypertext as a mean of scientific collaboration).
Anyway, the EU is not (openly) pushing for gaining direct control over the internet. It is better to do it know, especially since the contract is coming to its end, rather than when there will be a problem and we'll see a diplomatic war & bargaining during a period of international tension. Let's do it before the governments everywhere wake up and decide internet is a major nuisance (today Iran, tomorrow, it could be you! Think the equivalent of 2000 botched American Presidential Election spanning countrywide protests).
Edited 2009-06-20 18:38 UTC
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Member since:
2006-01-18
I seriously hope that this is ignored. Until ICANN actually makes some big mistakes there is no need for change.
Having dealt with a number of UN reps on some international projects, I have seen nothing but either ineptitude or outright corruption.
(FYI Americans and western nations hold quite a bit of control within the UN administration, I don't think this really wrests control away from Americans, just away from the "wrong" Americans)
In it's defense an organization with the UN's goals cannot give up the tool of bribery and be able to function in the developing world.
This is probably more of a power play to get people within an corruptible org to run something that has proven itself to not be so easily manipulated, under the guise of internationalism and "freedom."
I am actually impressed with ICANN not screwing things up royally except for perhaps not coming down hard enough on DNS and Registrar related issues. It's probably because ICANN is a more academic institution more than anything else, and somehow less corruptible.
Edited 2009-06-20 17:53 UTC