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A plan to transition global stewardship of key technical Internet functions from the U.S. government to an international body took a critical step forward Thursday. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers submitted its transition plan to the U.S. government for review. ICANN’s action was the culmination of a two-year process by the international Internet community. ICANN Board Chairman Stephen Crocker called it “an historic moment in the history of the Internet.” The plan details the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which is critical to the Internet’s smooth operation, from the U.S. to an independent organization. The transition is the final step in the long-in-the-works privatization of the Internet’s Domain Name System, first outlined when ICANN was incorporated in 1998. The plan was submitted to the U.S. National Telecommunication and Information Administration. If approved, implementation of the plan is expected to be completed before the contract between NTIA and ICANN expires on Sept. 30. Consumers and businesses that use the Internet won’t see any changes, said Jonathan Robinson, a domain names community representative with ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization. “The average Internet user can trust that the Internet that they’ve come to know and love and use and depend on will continue to function and operate in ways that they have come to rely on,” Robinson said during a webcast ICANN press conference from Marrakech, Morocco. Protections have been put in place to ensure that no government or entity has undue influence over ICANN, Crocker said. “People around the world, particularly in the developing countries, can depend upon the Internet to be a stable system that is unified around the world and is not taken over by one government or one collection of people or one industry,” he said. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News