U.S. Claims Victory in Internet Fight, But Others Not So Sure

Abstract

Delegates at an international meeting in Tunisia have agreed to allow oversight of the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) to remain with the United States. Leading up to the World Summit on the Information Society, a number of nations had put forth proposals that would have required the United States to cede DNS control to an international body. Instead, agreement was reached to leave DNS management with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and create an international forum to address concerns, though the forum will not have binding authority. The Internet Governance Forum is to begin meeting next year and will address issues both within the purview of ICANN, such as the addition of domains in languages other than English, and outside ICANN's authority, such as spam and cybercrime.