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Global Community Reacts To ICANN Deal
by Winter Casey
The European Commission this week welcomed the U.S. government's decision to give more autonomy to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the nonprofit corporation that manages the addressing system and other functions of the Internet.
"We in Europe trust ICANN's expertise and the unique multi-stakeholder model of consultation it represents," Viviane Reding, the European Union commissioner for information society and media, said in a statement. "We consider ICANN to be best placed to ensure that the Internet's international dimension is taken into account in organizing the Internet's root directory."
On Friday, ICANN signed a new agreement with the Commerce Department that includes what it calls "major gains" in its move toward independence. Commerce oversight of ICANN dates back to 1998 with the first agreement to mange the domain-name system. ICANN's most recent agreement was set to expire Sept. 30.
Previously, the European Union has questioned the U.S. government's relationship with ICANN and has called for more international input. The European Commission said it has been working for several years on a system of "Internet governance entrusted fully to the private sector without government interference."
Paul Kane, chairman of an association of domain registries assigned to address endings for particular countries, such as .fr for France, said "we welcome this initiative stimulating private-sector leadership of the Internet and respecting cultural linguistics and operational diversity."
As ICANN is still "very much a fledging organization," it would be surprising if an agreement had not been renewed, said Kane, whose group is known as CENTR. "There has been a perception that ICANN controls the Internet," but that is "rubbish. ICANN manages the forum for people to discuss issues of common interest."
According to Reding, the European Union supports ICANN's transition to full independence in the next three years or by the 2009 deadline when the current pact is set to expire.
Asia Internet expert Izumi Aizu said, however, that the agreement does not change the "key relationship" of the U.S. government as a supervisor of ICANN, nor does it guarantee any termination of the arrangement by that date.
Though the deal gives some recognition to ICANN's "multi-stakeholder model," it fails to acknowledge the users, citizens or civil society as a separate entity from the "private sector, which is usually business, but not citizens," he said, calling the situation still far from ideal.
Michael Gallagher, the former director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration -- the Commerce agency that oversees ICANN -- said the three-year term is great news for investors and the growth of the Internet. Gallagher said "the next billion Internet users are demanding much more," and ICANN's ability to satisfy those users will determine what will happen three years from now.
Gallagher and others still see room for improvement. He said it would be better if ICANN's processes were more clearly defined within a given time. The Internet community is frustrated with how long it takes ICANN to make decisions and how it makes them, he said. "It would be helpful to have a specific date when things would be accomplished," Gallagher said.
Reding noted that she would "welcome a reformed Governmental Advisory Committee." Gallagher said that ICANN panel must have a process that is responsive to world governments while adding that it would be very helpful for the rest of the world to have clearer guideposts on what it can expect from the committee.
The Internet Governance Project, a group of scholars, criticized the new agreement, calling it a "cosmetic response" to the feedback that NTIA received on the subject this year. The consortium wrote that the United States and ICANN have responded to concerns by dressing up their agreement with the objective of strengthening the public's perception that ICANN is relatively independent when it is not.
But the domain registrar GoDaddy hailed the Commerce deal. "ICANN isn't ready to be fully independent -- and no other international body is yet prepared to provide the leadership necessary to protect the Internet for all users," company CEO Bob Parsons said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Internet Governance Forum organized by the U.N. secretary-general will occur Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Athens, Greece, and will focus on Internet openness, security, diversity and access. A second forum will be held in 2007 in Brazil.
Close to 50 stakeholder submissions on the forum topics have been submitted. They include suggestions to create a global Internet governance body in addition to existing institutions. There has been continued debate over whether the United Nations should play an increased role in Internet governance.
Governments Forge Tech Deals
Gemalto, a digital security firm based in the Netherlands, announced this week that the Danish National Police has started issuing electronic passports that integrate the company's technology under an agreement that is set to run through 2009.
The passports contain the company's "contact-less microprocessor chip," which includes both the identity information of passport holders and digitized photographs. About 250,000 of the passports are expected to be issued by the end of 2006. Between 700,000 and 800,000 traditional passports are issued annually, according to the company.
And the management and technology consulting firm BearingPoint announced this week that the company has been awarded a $19.8 million contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development to support economic growth efforts and public finance infrastructure in Serbia.
Internet Portals In China And India
China has opened an interactive Internet portal, www.cm800.com, to help raise awareness of health issues. The site includes medical news, developments in the medical market, healthcare information for different age groups, and live video to encourage communication among medical experts and the public.
Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court launched a service Monday that allows petitioners and advocates on record to file cases electronically via the Internet for a small fee. This is the first time e-filing is being offered in any court in India.
No Agreement Reach On Passenger Data
The European Commission has announced that negotiations concerning airline passenger data between the United States and European Union were not concluded by the Oct. 1 deadline set by the European Court of Justice.
Commission Vice President Franco Frattini and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have said they will continue to work on a new agreement. The commission said progress has been made, and it favors an accord being reached as soon as possible.
The EU high court in May nullified a 2004 data-sharing agreement between the Untied States and the union on technical grounds and set the October deadline for reaching a new deal, according to AP. Under the agreement, information such as passenger names, addresses and credit-card data must be sent to U.S. authorities shortly after flights leave Europe for the United States.
In other news, the commission on Tuesday signed a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars with a consortium that includes Hewlett-Packard and France's Equant to improve the security of EU information technology networks.
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