ICANN CEO Fadi Writes On Huffington Post “A Critical Moment for the Future of the Internet”

In a story just published by the HuffingtonPost.com, entitled “A Critical Moment for the Future of the Internet” the CEO of ICANN Fadi Chehadé, who has already announced he will be stepping down next year, makes the case for  ICANN leaving US oversight:

Here are some highlights

“The Internet, the greatest invention of our generation — several generations in fact — is in many ways a reflection of the American Dream. ”

“It’s vast and open, unlimited in its potential reach.

“It’s inclusive and welcoming. ”

“Anyone can be part of it and make a difference.”

“The fastest growing part of the global economy is Internet-based, and the Internet accounts for a significant and growing portion of global GDP.”

“You’d be correct in arguing it’s an American-made innovation. We can trace the roots of the Internet back some 50 years to a U.S. Defense Department research program. But as the Internet has expanded globally, it’s become increasingly clear that one government cannot lay claim to it. The Internet is a worldwide resource. It belongs to everyone.”

“The U.S. Government always envisioned that its role in the IANA functions would be temporary. In March of 2014, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its intent to transition out of its stewardship of the IANA functions. In its announcement, NTIA cited its belief that ICANN as an organization has matured and improved its accountability, transparency and its technical competence. NTIA also asserted that the Internet, managed and driven by the global community of diverse stakeholders, is in very good hands.”

“The current model of Internet governance is the only one that can keep pace with the global expansion of users, including where, how, how often and in what language they’re using it. Continual evolution is key: Internet governance must evolve to meet the changing needs of all users to ensure the network remains available, open, stable and secure. A report by Microsoft projects that the number of Internet users will grow to 4.7 billion in 2025, 75% of that growth coming from emerging economies. We must work together to take into consideration this changing landscape.”

“Many believe that if the U.S. Government does not step aside, other governments, including some that are uncomfortable with an open and inclusive Internet, will step in to try to capture control of it through intergovernmental organizations. Alternatively, governments could become motivated to break away from the one, unified Internet to form their own national or regional networks, essentially fragmenting the Internet we know today. The result of this could be a patchwork of incompatible networks spread across different nation states, with long-term social, cultural, political and economic casualties.”

Why take that chance?

“Since March 2014, the community has spent more than 400 hours together on calls and in meetings, working to develop a proposal that meets the following guidelines:

Supports and enhances the existing multi-stakeholder model.

Maintains the security, stability and resiliency of the Internet Domain Name System.

Meets the needs and expectations of the global customers and partners of the IANA services.

Maintains the openness of the Internet.”

“Should the transition fail, the United States could lose credibility in its quest to maintain an open, multi-stakeholder-driven Internet. The risk of fragmentation will grow and U.S. and global economies risk losing the commercial and social benefits inherent in the single, global, free and open Internet where innovation happens, and on which we’ve all come to rely.”

So what do you?

I think a “open internet” not having anyone with oversight makes it more likely that China, Russia and those that already are allegedly taking part in a lot of high level hacking will just informally take control of ICANN.

ICANN will just become another political issue that will can become a problem going forward.

Just because the US gives up its oversight doesn’t mean that governments won’t  be “motivated to break away from the one, unified Internet to form their own national or regional networks” especially if the non-supervised ICANN is operated in a way that other superpowers lets just say Russia and China don’t like down the line.

So while Fadi asks

“Why take that chance?”

So Do I