I suppose if I CONTROLLED THE INTERNET, I would resist giving it up too. Then again, as an American, I already kind of do. The series of non-profit organizations that oversee the net’s technical specifications and domain name registry are not branches of the U.S. government but as American non-profits they do fall under the rubric of the Commerce Department.
Other countries aren’t crazy about that arrangement and it’s going to come up at a conference later this year in Dubai. A lot of posturing has already taken place in advance of that even though there’s really no way to force the American government to give up control.
Terry Kramer, the U.S. delegate to that conference expressed the country’s opposition yesterday.
“The US is concerned that proposals by some other governments could lead to greater regulatory burdens being placed on the international telecom sector, or perhaps even extended to the internet sector,” he wrote.
“The United States also believes that existing multi-stakeholder institutions, incorporating industry and civil society, have functioned effectively and will continue to ensure the health and growth of the internet and all its benefits.”
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