US reasserts control over the Internet

July 2005

The Bush administration announced on Thursday that the US government will not hand over control of the Internet to any other organisation, a surprise move that could presage an international flap.

At the moment, the US government maintains control of the Internet's "root" — the master file that lists what top-level domains are authorised — but has indicated in the past that it would transfer that responsibility to ICANN.

The new principles, outlined by Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael Gallagher, say the US government will "maintain its historic role in authorising changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file". In addition, the principles say, the US government will continue to maintain "oversight" over ICANN and prevent its "focus" from straying from technical coordination.

Gallagher's blunt announcement to a wireless conference in Washington DC — just a few days before ICANN's next meeting in Luxembourg — hints that the Bush administration would like to keep the Marina del Ray, California-based non-profit group on a short leash. ICANN has become the target of criticism as its budget has zoomed upward from $7m in 2003 to around $16m today.