In the wake of the NSA scandals still unfolding it seems now is as good a time as any other to separate the US govt from control of the internet.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140314/15211626581/us-relinquishing-what-tiny-control-it-had-internet-if-un-isnt-allowed-to-take-over.shtmlThe Commerce Department has now said that it will be "relinquishing" its "control" over ICANN's IANA, which administers the basic structure of the internet domain system.
U.S. officials set strict conditions and an indeterminate timeline for the transition from federal government authority, saying that a new oversight body must be created and win the trust of crucial stakeholders around the world, said Lawrence Strickling, a top Commerce Department official. The announcement essentially ruled out the possibility that the United Nations would take over the U.S. role, something many nations have advocated and U.S. officials have long opposed.
From what's being said, it sounds like the Commerce Department would like ICANN to continue more or less the way it has been running, just without the official claim to being overseen by the Commerce Department. Could that lead to troubles down the road? Sure. But, frankly, the US more or less forced itself into this position with its idiotic decision to let the NSA spy on everything. Before that, plenty of other countries were happy with de facto US "control" over the internet.
I think this step was inevitable given the scale of the abuses of trust undertaken in secret by the NSA.
