UN report to leave ICANN’s balls intact

July 2005

A sneak preview of the UN’s report into internet governance has revealed that ICANN will retain its position as the lead technical body for the Internet. However, the organisation’s dreams of becoming a quasi-governmental body overseeing the future of the internet have been dealt a heavy blow.

Chairman of the UN’s Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), Nitin Desai, spoke at ICANN’s bi-annual conference in Luxembourg this morning and said that 70 to 80 per cent of Internet governance did not concern ICANN at all.

He highlighted the threats of cybercrime and spam as examples of where a broader forum, including existing international organisations such as the UN, would be making the key decisions.

He also outlined a brand new forum in which ICANN would play a role alongside other major players such as WIPO and the ITU. That forum would not have decision-making powers but would supply a single source of authoritative advice to the UN.