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The Internet Rumble In Tunisia
by Randy Barrett
Leading diplomats of the world will meet in Tunisia next week to discuss Internet governance and other topics. Bush administration officials are in no mood to negotiate.
What began three years ago as a global exercise to advance the Internet as a tool for international development has devolved into a plebiscite about America's role as overseer of the Internet's domain-name system, or DNS, which is operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers under a contract with the U.S. Commerce Department. The DNS resolves Internet addresses and makes the network run.
While some people warn of a United Nations power grab, U.S. officials note that plots to take over the Internet's plumbing miss the essence of the global Net. "For those of you looking for the Holy Grail or the Fountain of Youth, it is not in the DNS," said Michael Gallagher, director of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. "Instead of talking about the value of the network we're talking about the phone book."
The Response To Europe's About-Face
After years of supporting ICANN, the European Union advanced a proposal in June for an approach to Internet governance that is more international. "The new cooperation model should include the development and application of globally applicable public policy principles and provide an international government involvement at the level of principles over ... naming, numbering and addressing-related matters," the document said.
Brazil, China, Cuba and Syria immediately seconded the approach.
The about-face surprised many U.S. onlookers and added to the conspiracy theory of a one-world government out to commandeer the Internet's root-zone file. Last month, members of the Congressional Internet Caucus including its House co-chairmen introduced a resolution, H. Con. Res. 268, calling for the U.S. to maintain control of the root server. A similar Senate resolution, S. 273, also was introduced.
"It is incumbent upon the United States and other responsible governments to send clear signals to the marketplace that the current structure of oversight and management of the Internet's domain name and addressing service works and will continue to deliver tangible benefits to Internet users worldwide in the future," the House measure said.
But one senior U.S. official sees the situation as part of an ongoing struggle over the deeper issue of how best to achieve international economic development -- whether through government action or via private industry investment.
"The issue of development as it is now being addressed at [the World Summit on the Information Society] cannot be separated from Internet governance," said Richard Beaird, senior deputy U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy at the State Department. "The governance debate is about innovation, which comes from the edges of the Internet and is private-sector driven."
Beaird's challenge in Tunisia will be to sell a light-handed approach that is multi-government-oriented but not bureaucratic. "It is not a fight over the authoritative root-zone file," he said. "It is about a view of the world that is integrated."
A Loss Of Focus
American technology firms are frustrated that the global information meeting has lost its original focus. "Development has been totally drowned out," lamented Fred Tipson, director of international organizations and development for Microsoft. "The problem with the current WSIS [proceeding] is that nobody is coming up with solutions. I don't feel like we're going to move the process forward."
Private companies and even ICANN feel outside the negotiations because they are -- literally. They have been largely barred from the WSIS preparatory-meeting drafting process to date.
"Organizations like ICANN won't be able to be in the room," ICANN CEO Paul Twomey said. "I think it's just an illustration of the thing that scares us. We don't want year-in, year-out multilateral haggling" over the Internet's addressing system.
Complicating matters is the fact that many developing countries have telecommunications systems owned by private monopolies. The United States addressed that concern with the break-up of AT&T in 1984, and American companies are trying to showcase the benefits of open telecom marketplaces.
"Countries that hold on to old [telecom] regimes are not doing themselves any favors because business is knocking at the door," said Brian Cute, vice president of government relations for VeriSign, which operates the domain name system for ICANN.
The United States has made its position on Internet governance clear on numerous occasions over the past three months: Administration of the domain system will remain on American shores under the auspices of ICANN.
Despite complaints and counterproposals from other nations, one high-level EU official said there is quiet support for the U.S. approach. "The U.S. has made it very clear they are not going to agree to any changes in the existing system," the official said. "The only way to get through is to engage the U.S. rather than alienate it."
The U.S. Quest For Goodwill
So why bother going to Tunisia at all? To be a good international citizen, U.S. officials said. "We're not trying to be in your face about this. That's not productive," said David Gross, an ambassador for State's economic and business affairs bureau.
And there is more at stake than just decisions at WSIS, which are not legally binding. Key meetings of the U.N. International Telecommunication Union -- of which the United States is a treaty member -- are scheduled for 2006. The events will include the plenipotentiary gathering that occurs every four years.
If U.S. officials can secure goodwill in Tunisia, it could help move forward larger trade issues. "We are going to have a lot of very difficult negotiations," Gross predicted.
Everyone agrees that opening ICANN to more international involvement is the ingredient for success. "ICANN acknowledges the very important role of governments, and we need to work with all of them," Twomey said. While the WSIS process has been largely frustrating for ICANN, once the conversation gets past governance issues, people just need help with their networks, he added. "WSIS has given us three years of free advertising."
Gross said he hopes there will be an agreement in Tunisia. "I think we will find common ground because there is common ground," he said.
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