insight 

The much anticipated panel session on the subject of critical internet resources took place yesterday at the Internet Governance Forum in Rio. It’s a shame that this issue seems to overshadow debates about how we can improve internet security and global access, which were the strongest concerns voiced by UK users at our pre-IGF discussions the other month.

Some of the debate is about the what the term ‘critical internet resources’ means, with some disagreeing with the WGIG text that defined it as much broader than just domain names, IP addresses and the root server system - and who therefore wish to discuss (yet again) the role of ICANN. Whilst we agree that ICANN needs to continue to evolve and to improve participation and accountability as it moves towards independence, this misses the point. Critical Internet resources is actually a huge area which also includes technical standards, telecomms infrastructure, innovative and emerging technologies as well as multilingualisation.

Another aspect of the debate is the role of the US Government, via the Department of Commerce. In the context of the domain name system, updates to the root zone are verified by the Dept of Commerce before implementation. In practice, this role is an administrative one and has been fulfilled responsibly. However, this role is felt by some to signify control of the Internet by the US. Linked to this perception, some are strongly urging the creation of new structures to govern the Internet. In contrast, our view is that we need to increase participation in the existing structures and continue to evolve them to suit our developing needs.

A positive development though is the keenness to engage in further dialogue and to develop multi-stakeholder processes at the national, regional and international levels. This would signify real progress for many stakeholders.

The full transcript of the session can be found at:

http://www.intgovforum.org/