U.S. to Retain Control of the Internet, Says UN Agreement   - 1,181 Views,

In fact, at that time, the U.S. had issued a statement saying, in part, that “The United States Government intends to preserve the security and stability of the Internet’s Domain Name and Addressing System (DNS). Given the Internet’s importance to the world’s economy, it is essential that the underlying DNS of the Internet remain stable and secure. As such, the United States is committed to taking no action that would have the potential to adversely impact the effective and efficient operation of the DNS and will therefore maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file.”

Last month it reached a critical level, as the UN Summit in Tunisia approached, and the U.S. girded its loins for battle. One U.S. senator even drafted a resolution about the issue, saying that “At the World Summit next month, the Internet is likely to face a grave threat. If we fail to respond appropriately, we risk the freedom and enterprise fostered by this informational marvel, and end up sacrificing access to information, privacy, and protection of intellectual property we have all depended on. This is not a risk I am prepared to take, which is why I initiated action to respond on a Senate level to this danger.”

This was all to come to a head at the UN Summit, where the delegates from many countries were to converge, and figure out What To Do About The Fact That The United States Controls The Master Zone Files.

What they did, at the eleventh hour, was leave those master zone files with ICANN, in the United States, agreeing instead to create an international body to discuss Internet issues, although that body will have no authority over ICANN or the United States.

Said U.S. negotiator David Gross, “We did not change anything on the role of the US government with regard to the technical aspects that we were very concerned about.”