Saturday, October 1, marked a historic day for the internet. The U.S. government finally handed over control of the world wide web’s “phonebook” to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) after almost 20 years of transition. The ICANN, a nonprofit organization composed of stakeholders from government organizations, members of private companies, and internet users from all over the world, now has direct control over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the body that manages the web’s domain name system (DNS).
When the Obama administration announced its plan to give up U.S. protection of the internet, it promised the United Nations would never take control. But because of the administration’s naiveté or arrogance, U.N. control is the likely result if the U.S. gives up internet stewardship as planned at midnight on Sept. 30.
On Friday Americans for Limited Government received a response to its Freedom of Information Act request for “all records relating to legal and policy analysis . . . concerning antitrust issues for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers” if the U.S. gives up oversight. The administration replied it had “conducted a thorough search for responsive records within its possession and control and found no records responsive to your request.”
It’s shocking the administration admits it has no plan for how Icann retains its antitrust exemption. The reason Icann can operate the entire World Wide Web root zone is that it has the status of a legal monopolist, stemming from its contract with the Commerce Department that makes Icann an “instrumentality” of government.
Antitrust rules don’t apply to governments or organizations operating under government control. In a 1999 case, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the monopoly on internet domains because the Commerce Department had set “explicit terms” of the contract relating to the “government’s policies regarding the proper administration” of the domain system. https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-internet-giveaway-to-the-u-n-1472421165
Saturday, October 1, marked a historic day for the internet. The U.S. government finally handed over control of the world wide web’s “phonebook” to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) after almost 20 years of transition. The ICANN, a nonprofit organization composed of stakeholders from government organizations, members of private companies, and internet users from all over the world, now has direct control over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the body that manages the web’s domain name system (DNS).
When the Obama administration announced its plan to give up U.S. protection of the internet, it promised the United Nations would never take control. But because of the administration’s naiveté or arrogance, U.N. control is the likely result if the U.S. gives up internet stewardship as planned at midnight on Sept. 30.
On Friday Americans for Limited Government received a response to its Freedom of Information Act request for “all records relating to legal and policy analysis . . . concerning antitrust issues for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers” if the U.S. gives up oversight. The administration replied it had “conducted a thorough search for responsive records within its possession and control and found no records responsive to your request.”
It’s shocking the administration admits it has no plan for how Icann retains its antitrust exemption. The reason Icann can operate the entire World Wide Web root zone is that it has the status of a legal monopolist, stemming from its contract with the Commerce Department that makes Icann an “instrumentality” of government.
Antitrust rules don’t apply to governments or organizations operating under government control. In a 1999 case, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the monopoly on internet domains because the Commerce Department had set “explicit terms” of the contract relating to the “government’s policies regarding the proper administration” of the domain system. https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-internet-giveaway-to-the-u-n-1472421165
(post is archived)