ICANN gains independence from the U.S.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that oversees some of the core mechanisms of the Internet, has been granted independence from the U.S. government.

On Wednesday, ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that they had signed a new agreement that states the Internet body is "independent and not controlled by any one entity." It also commits ICANN to remaining a private, not-for-profit organization.

A previous arrangement between the U.S. government and ICANN has just ended, paving the way for the new deal.

"[The agreement] commits ICANN to reviews performed by the community--a further recognition that the multi-stakeholder model is robust enough to review itself," the Internet organization said....

Read more of "Icann gains independence from the US" at ZDNet UK.

[solitare_pax]

Its about time.

[tech_crazy]

Long overdue infact.

[martin1212]

Agreed. Excellent news.

[selfkill]

Yay, now let the flood of new TLDs and the resulting clusterfck begin! It might be bad news for all business and individuals who want to protect their names, but hey look at the bright side, at least it's good news for domain squatters!

[JCPayne]

I wonder if the White House will be privatized???

[iptofar]

As bad as the commerce dept was, it's not as bad as the wackos in the rest of the world. We will regret this.

[DirtRidr]

This is no way to run an organization! This is the ultimate stupidity!!!

[DirtRidr]

This is no way to run an organization! This is the ultimate stupidity!!!

[ecotopian--2008]

Great move! This should have happened a long time ago. The Wackos in the rest of the world are no different that the Wackos in the USA.

[Akiba]

In regards to the internet, yes they are. Some of the other world governments, especially the most vocal on the issue have agendas that are much more blatantly centered around censorship. Fortunately this is not giving control to a collection of world governments.

[kaiman75]

There is no reason that ICANN shouldn't have been set up as a NGO in the first place. The Internet is a world wide phenomenon. Glad to hear that the divorce has been made final.

[rapier1]

Well, there was a reason it was set up that way in the first place. At the time of its creation it was funded by the US government and the internet was mostly a US/NA network. There wasn't a distinct need to keep it that way until now but originally it made a lot of sense.

[darkebinary]

I'll have to see how they behave. I don't buy the whole "non-profit" safety net. There's plenty of non-profits out there now who become corrupt whenever some money comes their way, but there are also some who don't. I think this could go either way.

[ikramerica--2008]

All non-profit means is that they can't make a profit and return the money to investors, not that they are altruistic. Non-profits are full of graft, bribery and scandal. Tax free.

[codynews]

What a stupid move. Why would the US do that?

[t8]

Now is the time for ICAAN to take over the world.
An Internet currency and Internet time are next, followed by adding every manufactured item to connect via RFID. Lastly, we will be become objects in the network once we are given our IPV6 protocol number and then the dream of world domination will finally come true.

OK, I am joking here, but it is a little worrying that the Hebrew number for six is W (Vav) meaning www = 666.

[Jbledsoe2005]

Because the beloved leader Obama is president of the US. Security went out the window when he took office.

[Dalkorian]

LOL!

[Dalkorian]

Oh, actually I was laughing AT you.

[dlsweb]

No doubt a czar will be in charge.
A new world order has begun.
A new world philosophy, trust and you will be rewarded.
All people are good, they just have to be spoken to properly and then they will bow before the gods of peace and order.

I have to start digging my underground safe house soon
Power corrupts, absolute power absolutely corrupts.

[unknown unknown]

Just what the internet needs, more bureaucracy and international squabbling.

[jtjt145]

As much as American's may hate losing control of this powerful, little organization ICANN, the rest of the world will breath easier in that it is no longer either the Pentagon or American multi-nationals determining who gets which name space.
This has nothing to do with other countries taking away the credit of US creativeness coming up with the idea and creating the internet initially. However, now that the internet is an international reality and a large commercial factor, it was either the US ceding control over ICANN or other countries would have come up with their own, competing organizations, resulting in dis-jointed trunks of 'internets' worldwide.

Arthur

[xray206]

brilliant if someone sues ICANN and wins big time they get the root, this was a brilliant idea, this will ultimately end the net as we know it.

[SergeM256]

So, who owns Internet names and number now? It is "private, non-profit" - who are the private people that own it? Where is it registered? What kind of jurisdiction does it have in the US and abroad?

[sundance808]

YES FINALLY!!!

[JCPayne]

Wont be long until the move offshore.... To be tax-free.

[inachu1]

People in other countries will now press harder to get certain websites removed or disabled.

[cnet_user_0]

It's part of evolution...accept it and move on, already!

[SpiritMatter]

Ergo Proxy, where are you when we need you?