Mains 2016: ICANN and the Future of Internet

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Background:

Before the establishment of ICANN, the function of administering registries of Internet protocol identifiers (including the distributing top-level domains and IP addresses) was performed by Jon Postel, a Computer Science researcher in USA.
As the Internet grew and expanded globally, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a process to establish a new organization to perform the IANA functions. Hence, ICANN came into being.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):

ICANN is a non-profit body that administrates domain names and Internet protocol addresses (IPs) globally. It was formed in 1988 by US department of commerce. It has become independent of US control since October 1^st, 2016.

What does ICANN do?

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other.
ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet.

It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.

What ICANN doesn’t do?

ICANN through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system has had an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet. It does not engage in following tasks,

Content on the internet:ICANN is not in the business of monitoring and regulating child pornography, hate speech, scams, spoofs or other illegal material. Laws in international organizations, or in countries, states or localities, govern such activity.
Internet access: That is provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that are not under the control of ICANN.
Bad actors on the internet: ICANN is not a policing enterprise. It does not investigate hackers or spammers or those accused of trademark violations.

What does ICANN have to do with IP addresses?

ICANN plays a similar administrative role with the IP addresses used by computers.
ICANN does not run the system, but it does help co-ordinate how IP addresses are supplied to avoid repetition or clashes.

ICANN is also the central repository for IP addresses, from which ranges are supplied to regional registries who in turn distribute them to network providers

The issue:

Before ICANN, Jon Postel was in charge of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
Administration of the IANA was contracted to the newly-formed ICANN, but the U.S.’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) kept its final say over what it was able to do.
It is that final detail that is set to change from October 1. US will no longer be able to intervene on matters around internet naming(Domain Name System). No longer will the US government, through the NTIA be able to intervene on matters around internet naming.

Problem with US control:

US government could unilaterally interfere with the ICANN’s policy process, and the Internet’s root server.
The S. President has various kinds of emergency powers regarding key infrastructure, which is likely to extend to ICANN and the root server.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has seized foreign assets in the U.S. on the baseless geopolitical grounds. A country’s domain name (e.g. “.in”) in the root server can be considered that country’s asset inside the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission has recently declared Internet service as a public utility. It might at will seek jurisdiction over ICANN-managed critical Internet resources.
Interference from judiciary – Some adult content companies have legally challenged the ICANN-mandated .xxx domain name. A U.S. court has taken the case on file, thus exercising its jurisdiction over an ICANN policy decision.
Lastly, the U.S. legislature can make any kind of law affecting any aspect of ICANN and the root server.

India’s Position on Internet governance:

India’s proposal is that the Internet should be managed through the multi-stakeholder approach. And a pivotal role for governments as the custodian of cyberspace in the wake of security threats from terror groups.
India has described the role of the government as “an important stakeholder” and “a custodian of security” for the global Internet infrastructure.
India’s stand it that the body managing the Internet should have “accountability towards governments” in areas where “governments have primary responsibility, such as security and similar public policy concerns”.

Analysis:

It marks a transition from an internet effectively governed by one nation to a multi-stakeholder governed internet: a properly global solution for what has become a global asset.
Vested interests might take over – It is feared that the concerned industry’s narrow interests will entirely take over, with no restraints. The U.S. government at least had no reason to work for these interests.
- A few years back, it rapped ICANN when it allowed .com owners to steeply raise domain name price, and got it reversed.
The real problem of the U.S.’s executive, legislative and judicial control over ICANN and the root server will not change with the current proposal.
- What is required is to get ICANN incorporated under international law, with host country communities for an international organization.