The United States has confirmed it is finally ready to cede power of the internet’s Domain naming system, ending the almost 20-year process to hand over a crucial part of the US internet's governance ending.
The Domain Naming System, DNS, is one of the internet’s most important systems components.
It pairs the easy-to-remember web addresses - like Google.com - with their relevant servers. Without DNS, you’d only be able to access websites by typing in its web IP address, a series of numbers such as "For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4 . For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844".
More by circumstance than intention, the United States has always had ultimate say over how the DNS is controlled - but not for much longer do that.
It will give up its power fully to (Icann) - the Internet Corporation for Assigned Domains Names and Numbers - a non-profit organisation.
The terms of the change were agreed upon in 2014, but it was not until now that the United States said it was finally satisfied that (Icann) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers was ready to make the change.
Icann (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will get the “keys to the kingdom”, as one expert put it, on 1 October 2016. From that date, the United States will lose its dominant voice - although Icann will remain in United States's city Los Angeles.
Users of the world wide web will not notice any difference - that’s because Icann has essentially been doing the job for many years anyway.
But it is a move that has been fiercely criticised by some United State politicians as opening the door to the likes of China and Russia to meddle with a system that has always been “protected” by the United State.
"The proposal will significantly increase the power of foreign governments over the Internet,” warned a letter signed by several Republican senators, including former United State presidential candidate election campaigns, Ted Cruz.
Whether you think those fears are justified depends on your confidence in the ability of Icann to do its job in truly meaning full manners.
It was created in US 1998 to take over the task of assigning web addresses dot-com, net, org and biz. Until that point, that job was handled by only one man - Jon Postel. He was known to many as the “god of the internet”, or world wide web nod to his power over the internet, as well as his research work in creating some of the many more systems that underpin internet networking.
Mr Jon Postel, who died not long after Icann was created, was in charge of the internet to Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Administration of the IANA was contracted to the newly-formed Icann, but the United State's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the Department of Commerce, kept its final they are say over what it was able to do.
It’s that full and final detail that is set to change from October. No longer will the United State government - through the NTIA - be able to intervene on matters around the world internet naming.
It rarely difficult intervened. Most famously, it stepped in when Icann wanted to launch a new top-level domain for pornographic, websites “.xxx”. The government wanted Icann to ditch the idea, but it eventually went ahead anyway.
From October, the “new” Icann will become a non US organisation that answers to multiple stakeholders who want a say over the internet mechanism. Those stakeholders include many other countries, businesses and groups offering technical expertise they can provide.
“It is a most ever big change,” remarked Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey.
"It marks a transition from an internet effectively governed by one nation to a multi-stakeholder governed internet: a properly global solution for what has become a global asset off communication."
Technically, the United State is doing this voluntarily - if it wanted to keep remain in power of DNS, it could. But the country has long acknowledged that relinquishing its control was a vital act of international diplomacies also Involved.
Other countries, particularly China and Russia, had put pressure on the United Nations to call for the DNS to be controlled by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union.
A treaty to do just that was on the table in year 2012 - but the United States, along with the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, refused, citing concerns over human rights abuses that may arise if other countries had greater say and control over the internet system and its technical foundations.
Instead, the United States has used its remaining power over DNS to shift control to Icann, not the United Nations.
In more response to worries about abuse of the internet by foreign non US governments, the NTIA said it had consulted corporate business governance experts who said its the prospect of government interference was “extremely remote”.
"The internet community’s new powers to challenge board decisions and enforce decisions in law court protect against any one party or group of interests from inappropriately influencing to Icann,” it said in a Question and Answer section on its website.
As for how it will change what happens on the internet, world the effects will most likely be minimal for the average individual user.
"This has nothing to do with laws in courts on the internet,” Prof Woodward said.
"Those still are the US national laws that apply where it touches those countries.
"This is more about who officially controls the foundations of the Internet/websites addresses and domains names, without which the network wouldn't function" By any reason or conflict in the world.
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