Successful conclusion of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition and expiration of NTIA's role in authorizing changes to the authoritative root zone file mean the federal government has “finally realized the bipartisan goal of previous administrations to privatize the domain name system,” said the agency Thursday in what it called its final progress report to Congress on the switchover. ICANN completed the IANA handoff in early October, leading many to predict a refocus of the organization's attention on other issues (see 1610030042). The global “multistakeholder community has reacted positively” to the transition, including positive reports from the Internet Architecture Board, Internet Engineering Task Force and Internet Society, NTIA said. The U.S. government “will continue to play an active leadership role in advocating for a free and open Internet and U.S. interests within ICANN as a member of the Governmental Advisory Committee, and in other international venues,” the agency said.
NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling urged Internet Governance Forum participants Wednesday to “build” on the experience of advancing the multistakeholder governance model exhibited in the recently completed Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition “and find opportunities to apply the model to those issues where it has the best chance to succeed.” The IGF is meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico, through Friday. There's “work to do to demonstrate to stakeholders everywhere, but especially in developing countries, how they can utilize this tool to solve technical policy challenges better than top-down regulatory approaches offered by governmental organizations like the ITU,” Strickling said in prepared remarks. The multistakeholder process “does not guarantee that everyone will be satisfied with the outcome,” Strickling said. “But it is critical to preserving this model of Internet governance that all parties respect and work through the process and accept the outcome once a decision is reached. It is clear that we have more work to do on this front.” Even ICANN during the planning for the IANA oversight spinoff was “not immune to detractors who attempt to undermine the process after an outcome has been achieved,” Strickling said. “After the community completed the IANA transition plan, there were those who tried unsuccessfully to delay or block the transition at the eleventh hour. Of course, there will always be those who are not happy with the outcome. But if you believe in the process, you must respect the process by bringing your concerns or ideas forward before stakeholders come to a consensus decision -- not after.”
Congress can still play a role in influencing ICANN policy after the completed Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition by overseeing the U.S. role within the organization, the Congressional Research Service reported. Congress didn’t delay the IANA oversight spinoff in September despite concerns among some GOP lawmakers (see 1609220067 and 1609280067). With the switch complete, “Congress may continue assessing how effectively NTIA is advancing U.S. government positions within the [ICANN] Governmental Advisory Committee,” CRS said. It said Congress may also choose to examine the extent to which “ongoing and future intergovernmental telecommunications conferences” at the ITU and elsewhere “constitute an opportunity for some nations to increase intergovernmental control over the Internet -- at the expense of the multistakeholder system of Internet governance -- and how effectively NTIA and other government agencies (such as the State Department) are working to counteract that threat.” The upcoming Dec. 6-9 Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico, the 2017 World Telecommunication Development Conference and the ITU’s 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference are seen as potential flash points on internet governance issues (see 1610030042). The debate on internet governance “will likely have a significant impact on how other aspects of the Internet may be governed in the future, especially in such areas as intellectual property, privacy, law enforcement, Internet free speech, and cybersecurity,” CRS said. “The institutional nature of Internet governance could have far-reaching implications on important policy decisions that will likely shape the future evolution of the Internet.”
ICANN officials and community members will participate in the Internet Governance Forum meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico, the organization said Tuesday. The IGF meeting, to run Dec. 6-9, is one of several future internet governance meetings seen as potential flash points on internet governance issues (see 1610030042). The Guadalajara meeting will include discussions about “the significant enhancements needed in information and communications technologies (e.g., new devices, systems, online information) for countries to meet the targets for the Sustainable Development Goals that the U.N. agreed to last year,” said ICANN Vice President-Stakeholder Engagement for Latin America and the Caribbean Rodrigo de la Parra and Vice President-Intergovernmental Organizations Engagement Nigel Hickson in a blog post. “These discussions will guide actions by national governments, regional and global agencies, and stakeholder groups. The IGF will also discuss pertinent Internet public policy issues such as cybersecurity and data privacy.” ICANN views the IGF meeting as a “venue introducing participants to [the organization’s] role in the Internet landscape,” the officials said. “We'll be able to reach members of the global community who don't attend our meetings. We're particularly looking to attract new stakeholders from civil society, academia and business.” ICANN members will host panels on the new generic top-level domain application process and on how the organization will operate after the now-completed Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, ICANN officials said.
NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling emphasized the importance of future discussions around multistakeholder internet governance, including during the upcoming Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico. Internet governance is one of several issues set to come up during the IGF meeting, which is set for Dec. 6-9. Discussions about the multistakeholder model took on greater importance in the wake of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition in early October (see 1609300065 and 1610030042), Strickling said during a U.K. Internet Governance Forum event. The model “is a diverse, multi-layered system that thrives only through the cooperation of many different parties, operating through consensus, in a bottom-up manner,” Strickling said in a prepared version of Thursday's speech. “Unequivocally, the success of IANA functions stewardship transition serves as a validation of that premise, and of our ongoing and unrelenting commitment to the multistakeholder model.” Stakeholders should build on the handoff's success to “tackle other internet policy challenges,” Strickling said. The multistakeholder approach has worked in the allocation of critical resources like IP addresses and domain names, “but can we bring stakeholders together to address some of these other thorny issues through the consensus decision-making that characterizes the multistakeholder approach? Can the multistakeholder approach help make progress on questions of data protection, software vulnerability research, artificial intelligence, and other emerging issues? I think it can.”
The stance that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration takes on internet governance issues “at least internationally is going to be tied very closely” with Trump’s overall foreign policy agenda, said Internet Society Vice President-Global Policy Development Sally Wentworth during a Freedom House event Monday. Freedom House released its annual assessment of internet freedom, which examined the period between June 2015 and May. The report highlighted what the group viewed as governments’ increasing restrictions on the use of social media platforms during periods of civil unrest. Trump’s foreign policy agenda will converge with his stance on internet governance particularly when he approaches negotiations within the U.N., “where we’re seeing a significant rise is member state negotiations over things like cybersecurity and cyberterrorism,” Wentworth said. Trump’s tech agenda generally has been unclear, but on cybersecurity and other tech issues where his goals are at least somewhat clear, his agenda is “perhaps a bit concerning,” Wentworth said.
NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling admonished critics of the recently completed Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, in a speech Wednesday. ICANN implemented the move earlier this month after NTIA allowed its contract with the organization to administer the IANA functions to expire (see 1610030042). Strickling noted "some last-minute attempts to derail the transition" during an Internet Governance Project event. “You do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you wait until the process is over and the community has reached consensus and then propose major changes in the plan without ever asking the community to consider such an option," Strickling said. "You do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you do not participate for two years and then afterward say you object to the outcome.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, led GOP congressional opposition to the transition, with some senators unsuccessfully attempting to delay its implementation via the short-term continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 9 (see 1609220067 and 1609270054). A coalition of four GOP state attorneys general unsuccessfully tried to delay the switch via a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Galveston, Texas (see 1609300065). Strickling said it's fortunate those attempts to scuttle the transition “did not succeed” and NTIA was able to fulfill its promise to spin off its oversight of the IANA functions to the ICANN community. “I believe without a doubt we were” correct to seek a multistakeholder process to plan for the switchover, as it turned into a "most compelling" demonstration of the strengths of multistakeholder internet governance, Strickling said.
The U.S. District Court in Galveston, Texas, released Judge George Hanks' full order denying a bid by four Republican state attorneys general for a temporary restraining order to delay the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition. Hanks ruled against the TRO request Friday and the transition executed just after midnight Saturday (see 1609300065 and 1610030042). Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led the underlying lawsuit against NTIA over the handoff, joined by Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, Nevada AG Adam Laxalt and Oklahoma AG Scott Pruitt (see 1609290073). The attorneys general “have not produced evidence sufficient to carry their heavy burden” in proving the need for the TRO, Hanks said in his ruling (in Pacer), released Monday. “Instead, they provide only the statements and averments of counsel -- and hearsay from third parties -- to speculate about the future results of possible changes and events in a complex phenomenon, and the role and influence of NTIA over this phenomenon. This is not enough to carry their heavy burden here.” Even if Hanks' court “were to find that some past harm or bad acts by [ICANN] impacted the interests of the States in their respective websites and alleged rights at interest, the Court notes that these past harms happened under the exact regulatory and oversight scheme that the States now seek to preserve,” Hanks said: “This, along with the lack of evidence regarding any predictable or substantially likely events, greatly undermines” the case for a TRO. The AGs' offices said they're considering next steps.
Technology CEO Council Chairman Mark Durcan urged House and Senate leaders Monday “not to block” the planned Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition on Saturday. Senate Republicans last week introduced language for a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government after FY 2016 expires this Friday that didn’t include proposed language that would delay the transition past Oct. 1. Some remain unsure Congress has fully abandoned efforts to postpone the handover (see 1609220067). Two conservative groups continued urging Congress Monday to seek the delay (see 1609260059). Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, a TCC member, and Google General Counsel Kent Walker are also backing the handover. The transition “is good policy, both for the United States and for the global Internet community,” Durcan wrote. “Placing stewardship of these technical but important functions beyond the control of any one government or group of governments will best secure the principles of Internet freedom and de-politicization of technology. America truly leads by example, walking its talk in support of apolitical Internet governance.” Krzanich backed the transition Saturday in a blog post. "This final stage of Internet privatization will help ensure that future American innovations benefit from a global, stable and interoperable Internet infrastructure,” Krzanich said. “American business relies on these principles and the growth they have provided.” Krzanich said previous steps in privatizing the internet “brought about exponential growth of the Internet -- growth that propelled Moore’s Law and breakthrough innovations in computing power. Because of these phenomena, American industry has led the world in technological transformation and innovation.” Google believes that post-transition, “you won’t notice anything different when you go online, but we are transitioning the IANA functions into good hands,” Walker said in a Monday blog post. “Although this is a change in how one technical function of the Internet is governed, it will give innovators and users a greater role in managing the global Internet. And that’s a very good thing.” Thinking “only governments should have a say in the Internet’s future is a dangerous proposition,” Walker said. “It incentivizes those who fear the Internet’s transformative power to impose burdensome restrictions online, and over time could even lead some repressive governments to try to build their own closed networks operating independently of ICANN, at the expense of a thriving Internet ecosystem.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, cited Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's support for delaying the planned Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition as one of six “vital” policy reasons Cruz decided to endorse Trump's candidacy Friday. The Trump campaign said Wednesday it backed a push by congressional Republicans to delay the transition through language in a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government when FY 2016 ends Sept. 30 (see 1609210070). Senate Republicans filed non-compromise CR language Thursday that didn't contain the transition delay language (see 1609220067), drawing some GOP criticism (see 1609230031). Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton supported the IANA transition in a tech policy agenda released in June (see 1606280071), which shows her commitment to “hand over control of the Internet to an international community of stakeholders, including Russia, China and Iran,” Cruz said in a Facebook post. Cruz's endorsement comes more than two months after he refused to back Trump during a speech at the Republican National Convention. Cruz said he chose to endorse Trump in part because he committed last year to “support the Republican nominee.” Cruz said he also chose to publicly back Trump because Clinton's support for the transition and her other policy positions are “wholly unacceptable.”