| Author (Person) | McLauchlin, Anna |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.40, 10.11.05 |
| Publication Date | 10/11/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Anna McLauchlin Date: 10/11/05 US hopes that the EU would drop its opposition to American control of the internet were dashed this week as it emerged that the European Commission would not yield. Instead, during meetings of EU deputy ambassadors on Wednesday (9 November), the EU merely clarified its intention to force the US to relinquish its political oversight of the body that oversees internet management - the Internet Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers (ICANN) - in favour of an international set up. "From the beginning the intention was to internationalise internet governance and it is the US government that has now changed its position," said a Commission spokesman, referring to an agreement made under the Clinton administration to make ICANN entirely independent from September 2006. He hit out at suggestions that the EU wanted to create a more bureaucratic body to rule ICANN. "The Commission has never asked for government control of ICANN. At the moment there is only one administration controlling the internet and that is the US," he insisted. "What we are asking for is that any discussions about the general principles should take place between different administrations." The EU has laid out its final position in a paper finalised yesterday (9 November), which will be presented as a basis for negotiation during three days of informal talks immediately preceding the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 16-18 November. In it the bloc reiterates its calls for the creation of a 'model of international co-operation' that would function within the current confines of the internet management system. The spokesman suggested that this could be created via the Governmental Advisory Council - a body composed of around 30 governments that provides non-binding advice to ICANN. But the paper is more specific about the principles that such a model should adhere to, such as the interoperability and openness of the internet and the tasks that it should carry out. Essentially these would leave the current approval system for making changes to the internet unchanged, but give the forum, rather than the US, the final say in ICANN affairs. The dispute focuses on who should govern changes to the internet 'rootzone file'. Root zones are the part of the domain name system (DNS), such as .com or .org, that allow different computers to communicate with one another. All changes have to be approved by ICANN, a body contracted to the US department of commerce. Though the latter has never interfered with any of ICANN's decisions, it has the final political say on any changes. Unless a compromise can be reached with the US in the run up to the WSIS conference the issue looks set to dominate the three-day summit. The US had hoped that this week's meetings would lead to a softening in the Commission's position. A spokesman for the US mission on Wednesday (9 November) declined to comment on the US position ahead of next week's talks. Article reports that during meetings of EU deputy ambassadors (Coreper) on 9 November 2005, the EU clarified its intention to force the US to relinquish its political oversight of the body that oversees internet management - the Internet Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers (ICANN) - in favour of an international set up. The EU's final position was laid out in a paper, which was to be presented as a basis for negotiation during three days of informal talks immediately preceding the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 16-18 November 2005. |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, United States |
