US Relinquishes Control of Internet Naming System Oct. 1

USA has confirmed that it will hand the power of the internet’s naming system to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – a non-profit organisation.

The U.S. government approved the transition of managing the internet domain naming system (DNS) to an independent organization under ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) in October, drawing fire from conservatives who say the move could hinder national security.

But stewardship of the IANA is due to be transferred to the wider internet multistakeholder community as part of a almost 20-year effort to privatise the DNS. On October 1st the NTIA will allow it to end, giving ICANN control of DNS.

Without DNS, you’d only be able to access websites by typing in its IP address, a series of numbers such as “194”.

The Domain Naming System, DNS, is one of the internet’s most important components. However, businesses should keep in mind the differences between the NTIA and ICANN, Hall said.

So when you untangle this, what’s actually happening is that the U.S. government is removing the contract element to IANA and giving it to ICANN which, although US-based, is geographically neutral.

The agreement to complete the transition was made back in 2014, and as of Tuesday, the government is satisfied that ICANN is ready to take charge of the system, said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Lawrence E. Strickling in a blog post confirming the switchover date.

The transition marks the last step in an 18-year US government effort to privatize the internet domain name system, Strickling added. The transfer of the DNS will enable a “global solution for what has become a global asset”, said Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey.

During NTIA’s battle, Republican lawmakers have dissented to the transition, fearing it would create weak accountability standards and more chances to censor the internet. Since 1998, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has partnered with ICANN, a California nonprofit, to keep things running.