Austin Modine
The Register
Friday, June 19, 2009

The European Commission is once again calling for the United States to let go of ICANN and place it under international supervision.

Echoing an earlier appeal from EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, the Commission said in a statement today that future internet governance “should reflect the key role that global network has come to play for all countries.”

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a California-based non-profit group that oversees the internet’s address system. It currently operates under a Joint Project Agreement with the US government, which expires at the end of September 2009.

“It is an appropriate time therefore for the EU to review the progress of ICANN to date, and to identify what changes if any may be desirable,” the Commission said.

In a communication entitled “Internet governance: the next steps,” the EC proposed that ICANN operate under private-sector authority for day-to-day internet management, “but ultimately be properly accountable to the international community as a whole.”