US to Keep Control of Internet from UN

Effectively heading off any looming showdown with the international community, the United States government signed an agreement with other nations over future management of the Internet hours before a meeting in Tunisia.

While U.S. detractors did not gain United Nations control of the Internet, the agreement will create an body called the Internet Governance Forum that would convene in 2006 to discuss "public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance."

According to the U.S. delegation, the agreement is a win for the country as it did not take control away from ICANN nor create "new international organizations." However, critics could also claim a minor victory, as the deal continues dialog over how the Internet should be governed.

The U.S. delegation stressed the fact that the new body had no regulatory power or oversight function.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United States deserved thanks for its work in creating the Internet, and had "fairly and honorably" performed its oversight duties.

"I believe all of you agree that day-to-day management of the Internet must be left to technical institutions, not least to shield it from the heat of day-to-day politics," Annan said in opening remarks to the World Summit on the Information Society, beginning today in Tunis.

"I think you also all acknowledge the need for more international participation in discussions of Internet governance issues," he continued. "The question is how to achieve this." Earlier this year, the UN said the United States should not hold complete control.

Several conservative groups as well as Republican senators and representatives, including a few Democratic legislators, have rallied against any possible international takeover of the Internet. According to Dr. Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, the agreement should appease most.

"Conservatives who have been quarreling with the Bush administration on a wide variety of subjects will be pleased that no control over the internet was ceded to the United Nations," Sabato told BetaNews. "Of course, many businesses and people of more liberal ideological stripes will also be happy with the agreement. Few want to see the internet become regulated by any organization, much less the UN."