Icann accepts sweeping changes

Web naming authority the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has unanimously adopted new measures which it claims will improve efficiency, but has ended direct elections for its board.

Icann directors will now be elected by committees and will include business people, technical advisors and government players.

Chief executive Stuart Lynn admitted after the group's meeting in Bucharest at the weekend that change was needed to ensure that board members had the relevant knowledge and experience to take the web forward, saying that it had adopted "reforms to make Icann more efficient".

But opponents have argued that the reforms could make Icann less democratic, as hitherto five of the group's 19 directors have been selected by public ballot.

Icann was set up as an autonomous body by the US government to control internet domain names. But a number of senators have recently demanded that the government become more involved in the regulation of the web.

Other issues resolved at the meeting include a 30-day stay of execution for domain name owners to update expired registrations.