US Government Wants to Give Up Internet Governance

March 25, 2014

Published in Trouw
(Netherlands) on 15 March 2014
by (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Liza Wijker. Edited by Laurence Bouvard.

The American government no longer wishes to concern itself with Internet governance. Washington wants to do away with the last part of the Internet that it still has control over at present, as reported by The Washington Post on Friday.

In the United States, the government, among others, still concerns itself with the production and allocation of domain names for websites, as well as the distribution of IP numbers, unique codes which computers receive upon connecting to the Internet. Through the non-profit organization ICANN, the American government has kept watch over various Internet-related issues since 1998. Next year, the contract with this company will come to an end.

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV has called the plan a good step towards “promoting a free and open internet.” Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, fears, however, for the “global internet community” taking over control. “This risks foreign dictatorships defining the internet.”

Critics who have an interest in stable Internet governance call the decision rushed and politically colored.

Overheid VS wil af van internetbeheer

De Amerikaanse regering wil zich niet langer bezighouden met internetbeheer. Washington wil af van het laatste stukje internet waar zij controle over heeft, meldde de Washington Post vrijdag.

De overheid houdt zich in de Verenigde Staten nog bezig met onder meer het maken en toewijzen van domeinnamen voor websites en de distributie van IP-nummers, unieke code's die computers krijgen bij aansluiting op het internet. Via de non-profitorganisatie ICANN hield de Amerikaanse landelijke overheid sinds 1998 de controle over diverse internetzaken. Volgend jaar loopt het contract met dat bedrijf af.

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV noemt het plan een goede stap 'voor het bevorderen van vrij en open internet'. Voormalig voorzitter van het Huis van Afgevaardigden Newt Gingrich vreest echter voor de 'wereldwijde internetgemeenschap' die de controle overneemt. 'Dit brengt het risico met zich mee dat buitenlandse dictators het internet gaan dicteren.'

Critici die belang hebben bij stabiel internetbeheer, noemen de beslissing overhaast en politiek gekleurd.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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