September 15, 2008
The EU has hailed a decision taken by the US government to grant full autonomy to the not-for-profit organisation, which manages internet domain names by 2009. The EU has always criticised the control over internet governance exercised by the US. Now things will change a bit thanks to the new developments.
Icann, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, was set up in 1998. It is based in California. The Corporation would no longer be required to report to US authorities after every six months. It would do so annually to the whole internet community under arrangements that just took effect as a prescriptive agreement lapsed.
The newly signed three-year ‘joint project agreement’ can be subjected to a review at its halfway point. It states that the department of commerce ‘will be holding regular meetings with Icann senior management to assess progress,’ rather than the earlier process under which it reported to the US government.
The commissioner of EU information society and media, Viviane Reding, said:
Cyber-repression, whether required by governments or supported by commercial firms, is incompatible with Europe’s fundamental rights and its open, pluralist model of society.
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