OTI Releases Second Report on Upcoming IANA Transition

Today, New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) released the second paper in its continuing series on the IANA transition and the U.S. government’s decision to end its formal oversight of the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS). While the first paper of the series provided the necessary background on the existing legal and technical architecture involved in the transition, this paper describes the critical “constitutional” structures that must be put in place before the U.S. government proceeds with its transition plan.

In Part 1 of this series on Controlling Internet Infrastructure, OTI described the “IANA transition,” the U.S. government’s plan to give up its special oversight role by ending its contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has managed the day-to-day operations of the Internet’s “domain name system” since 1999. The goal of the IANA transition is to transfer that oversight and control to the global multistakeholder community, which has been the ultimate aim since ICANN was formed in 1998.

The second paper of the series describes the substantive and procedural safeguards that need to be in place to ensure that the transition does not undermine the principles of free and open communication on the Internet.

The following quote can be attributed to David G. Post, Senior Fellow at the Open Technology Institute:

“The IANA transition is a significant moment in the history of the Internet, and presents a historic opportunity to re-affirm the principle that Internet infrastructure is a public trust, to be managed by the global Internet community itself. But the attendant risks are substantial, and no element of the transition plan is more important than the design of effective “accountability” mechanisms that will help ensure that ICANN does not become the next FIFA and abuse the substantial power over Internet communication that is being placed in its hands. This paper lays out a framework for the design of a set of quasi-constitutional “checks and balances” that can see to it that ICANN keeps itself in line, even in the absence of direct governmental oversight.”

The following quote can be attributed to Danielle Kehl, Fellow at the Open Technology Institute:

“We are at a critical moment in the evolution of the transition, because the working groups on the IANA transition and enhancing ICANN accountability are currently incorporating feedback on their proposals with the goal of finalizing them over the next few months. We believe that  this transition still can and should go forward, but only if the critical accountability mechanisms are in place. This is a tremendous opportunity to bolster the free and open Internet, and it’s important to get it right.”