Icann seeks greater independence from the US government

Icann is looking to sever its close links with the US government forged by an agreement dating back to the beginning of the web.

The group has written to the US government in response to a consultation on the way Icann assigns and manages root domains and servers with the request that changes go further.

Icann said that its Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) obligations are up for renewal, and that it is perhaps time to be released from its commitments.

"The current IANA functions contract expires on September 30 2011. It has remained essentially unchanged since the 2000 agreement," wrote Icann president Rod Beckstrom in a letter to the US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

"In its stewardship of these global resources, Icann's mandate is to operate in the global public interest, consistent with the principles of accountability and transparency."

Plans to spin off the IANA part of Icann from the government have been promised since 2000 and are overdue, according to the letter.

"In all other respects, Icann's relationship with the Department of Commerce has evolved in parallel to the internationalisation of the internet," it added.

"By incorporating the principles of transparency and global accountability, and providing a clear path toward transitioning the IANA functions to the private sector, the Department of Commerce can finally complete the objective it set forth in the white paper over a decade ago: to allow for global participation in the management of internet names and addresses."

Icann said that there is no reason why it should be tied to the US government, explaining that it had the expertise and knowledge to perform the required functions and that it could improve its image by being more independent.

"Since the US government is not a party to these activities, there is no logical reason for these functions to be performed under a US government procurement contract," the group said.

The consultation runs until the end of March, and Beckstrom said that he expects the right decision to increase Icann's standing among the industries that it serves.

"Reducing the current scope of the framework so that fewer functions are provided subject to the exclusive oversight of the Department of Commerce would increase global confidence in the performance of these functions," Icann said.