US hands over internet addressing supervision to private sector

The Icann no longer supervises the assignment of IP addresses and the management of the root zone in the domain name system on behalf of the US government. The Icann’s contract with the US for this expired on Saturday, despite latest efforts to counter this.

The transition was initiated 18 years ago, the Icann reports, but met resistance in the US. The Icann acts as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority on behalf of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, part of the US Department of Commerce. The final step in the transition was made in 2014, when the role of the global community of technical experts, academics, civil rights organizations and governments in oversight was determined.

On October 1, the new charter of the Icann came into effect, which defines the role of the global partnership and the operation of the Icann as an autonomous non-profit organization. “The Icann community, board and organization can now move forward as a more accountable and transparent body,” said Icann, adding that the move will have no visible impact on how the internet works.

Last Thursday, prosecutors from the states of Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Nevada made a final attempt to block the transition, including claiming that it would give up US government property. The Texas court dismissed the case on Friday, USA Today reported. Right-wing Americans in particular opposed the transition, which in their view limits the influence of the US on the development of the Internet. There were also fears that undemocratic countries would have too much say in the future of the internet.

On the other hand, important internet organizations such as the World Wide Web Consortium and RIPE NCC, which is responsible for the issuance of IP addresses in Europe, among others, have long stated that management should not lie with a single country. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has been overseeing Internet addressing since 1998.