The Snowden Effect Continues

The U.S. government is relinquishing its control of the Internet's address system [when the Commerce Department’s – National Telecommunications and Information Administration] contract expires in September 2015] in a shift that may raise questions about the future direction of online innovation and communications.

The decision announced Friday begins a long-planned transition affecting the stewardship of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. That's a not-for-profit agency launched in 1998 by the Commerce Department to govern the system that assigns website addresses and directs Internet traffic.

[...]

. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority administers the technology that keeps computers connected to the Web and steers Internet traffic.

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"We will not accept a proposal that replaces the NTAI's role with a government-led or intergovernmental solution," Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary at the Commerce Department, told reporters.

  alJazeera

So, to whom? A US-tied corporate entity which the US can tap, back-door, or otherwise count on to be “cooperative”?

And who is the “contract” with that the US can decide who will replace the NTAI?

Although other countries have had a say in how the Internet works, the U.S. government retained veto power over ICANN. That role has fueled recurring debates about whether the U.S. government exerts too much influence over technology that plays such a pivotal role in society and the economy.

[...]

Strickling said the "timing is right" for the Commerce Department to start to phase out of ICANN.

Especially when European countries are discussing creating an entirely separate system to avoid going through US clutches.

Some Internet groups contend the U.S. government should remain in a supervisory position to prevent leaders in other countries with a history of suppressing free speech from trying to manipulate ICANN in a way that censors online communications.

Oh, that’s rich.

Some clarification from The Hill:

Currently, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration — an agency with Commerce — oversees that technical system, named the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Historically, it has contracted the operation of IANA out to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) on a biennial basis. The current contract is set to expire in September of 2015.

ICANN — which contains an advisory board comprised of government representatives — also manages the system for naming domains, ensuring that each web address is registered to only one person.

[...]

While the U.S. can participate in the domain name system through ICANN’s Government Advisory Council, its oversight role of IANA was the only direct link between the U.S. government and the critical Internet infrastructure.

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"A successful transition in the stewardship of these important functions to the global multi-stakeholder community would be a timely and positive step in the evolution of Internet governance," Craig Silliman, senior vice president of public policy [for Verizon], said. "Given the importance of the IANA functions to the stability and correct functioning of the Internet, it will be essential that a plan that preserves the security, stability, and seamless nature of the Internet be developed through a comprehensive multi-stakeholder process prior to the transition.”

”And I intend to see Verizon get that contract,” he did not say.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.