Congress Members Seek Permanent ICANN-US Link

A group of US congressional members have sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke calling for a temporary arrangement between the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (which manages technical aspects of the internet domain name system) to be made permanent.

The joint project agreement between the ICANN and the United States is set to expire 30 September. ICANN was created by the US government in 1998 with the intent of ultimately becoming independent from the influence of a single government. Periodically, end dates for the agreement are set and each time it is renewed with a new set of targets for ICANN to achieve. Other governments have been eager to see the separation occur.

The original Memorandum of Understanding between ICANN and the Commerce Department had such separation as an express goal.

“This Agreement promotes the stability of the Internet and allows the Parties to plan for a deliberate move from the existing structure to a private-sector structure without disruption to the functioning of the DNS [domain name system],” said its first principle. The original deadline for a handover was 30 September, 2000; it has since been pushed back seven times.

The Congressional letter lays out suggested elements of a permanent instrument, such as “commitments that ICANN will remain a not-for-profit corporation headquartered in the United States,” as well as several mechanisms to ensure accountability to stakeholders. The full text of the letter is available here [pdf].

The 4 August letter is signed by Democratic members of the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, including Chairman Henry Waxman (California), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet Rick Boucher (Virginia), Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (Michigan), and seven others.