Perhaps it’s a bit nationalistic and perhaps it is motivated out of the need to preserve national security or the stability of electronic commerce, whatever the reason, the US government has again rejected calls to relinquish control of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and with it the principle control over the IP addresses and domain names which form the very foundations of the internet.

In recent years there have been a growing chorus of nations, who played no role whatsoever in the development of the internet, calling on the US to cede its authority to an as yet undetermined international body.

Most vocal among these critics have been the Chinese, the Europeans and various developing nations, none of which contributed financially or technologically to the research and development which led to the internet’s creation. There is no justifiable argument, beyond the nationalistic diatribes offered up by the Tyrants of Beijing and others for the US to turn over one of the most crucial tools in international commerce to corrupt bureaucrats in the UN or any other organization.

Perhaps these nations are willing to compensate the US for its time and resources and objective management of the internet, something which one could not expect if left to the likes of China or other despots, then perhaps the US could entertain the notion of ceding its authority to an international internet body.

The US decision is the correct one.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060727-7366.html


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http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/increasing-calls-for-global-internet.html