Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Internet domain names will be managed independently of the US Government by 2009, according to the US Commerce Department. The European Commission has welcomed the decision.

The Commerce Department currently controls the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which controls internet addresses including .com, .net and .org and many country domains. ICANN has signed a three-year extension with the Commerce Department to manage domains, but the new deal involves less Government oversight than previously.

The US government has been promising to cede control of ICANN since its establishment in 1998. Though this has never happened, the Commission has welcomed the new contract and the pledge to hand the body its independence in 2009.

"A new and final chapter opened this weekend," said European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr at a press conference, according to reports. "We welcome that ICANN will be set free in a process over the next three years."

The Commission did make clear that it would track the US's actions to ensure that its word was kept.

"The European Commission will follow closely ICANN's transition to full independence in the next three years," said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "With our advice, we will contribute to this transition to ensure that it takes place transparently, reflecting the interests of industry and civil society alike."

The new agreement between the US and ICANN places less onerous conditions on the non-profit organisation and reduces the amount of direct control exercised over it. The twice yearly reports from ICANN to the Department of Commerce are no longer required, and department officials can no longer dictate what work ICANN employees carry out.

There have long been claims internationally that ICANN suffered US political interference. The latest incident came when ICANN decided not to proceed with establishing a .xxx domain designed for pornographic material. Critics, including the European Commission, claimed that the decision was due to political pressure from US President George W Bush's conservative administration.

The US Government said that it wanted ICANN to be independent. "We are committed to working with ICANN to ensure that they have the established transparency and accountability mechanisms necessary to be a stable, lasting and independent institution," John Kneur, acting assistant secretary for communications, told the Reuters news agency.

"This is a major step forward for the Internet community," Paul Levins, an ICANN vice president, told Reuters. "This is about the U.S. government saying that ICANN should be very clearly put on a path toward autonomy."

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