<div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/technology/us-to-give-up-role-in-internet-domain-names.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0&gwh=85565E7DCBDD21D448AD84772CB3F008&gwt=regi">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/technology/us-to-give-up-role-in-internet-domain-names.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0&gwh=85565E7DCBDD21D448AD84772CB3F008&gwt=regi</a><div>
<br></div><div><p class="" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-1" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">
WASHINGTON — The United States <a title="Announcement from the Commerce Department." href="http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2014/ntia-announces-intent-transition-key-internet-domain-name-functions" style="color:rgb(50,104,145)">will give up its role</a> overseeing the system of Web addresses and domain names that form the basic plumbing of the Internet, turning it over in 2015 to an international group whose structure and administration will be determined over the next year, government officials said on Friday.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Since the dawn of the Internet, the United States has been responsible for assigning the numbers that form Internet addresses, the .com, .gov and .org labels that correspond to those numbers, and for the vast database that links the two and makes sure Internet traffic goes to the right place.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The function has been subcontracted since 1998 to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, an international nonprofit organization, with the expectation that the United States would eventually step back from its role.</p>
<a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/technology/us-to-give-up-role-in-internet-domain-names.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0&version=meter+at+7&region=FixedCenter&pgtype=article&priority=true&module=RegiWall-Regi&action=click#story-continues-3" style="border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0px;width:1px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(50,104,145)">Continue reading the main story</a><h2 class="" style="font-size:0.6875rem;line-height:0.6875rem;font-family:nyt-franklin,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px 0px 1em;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-transform:uppercase">
RELATED COVERAGE</h2><ul style="margin:0px;list-style:none;padding-left:0px"><li style="font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin-bottom:0.75em"><a class="" href="http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2014/ntia-announces-intent-transition-key-internet-domain-name-functions" style="display:block;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:none"><h2 class="" style="font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:1.0625rem;font-weight:400;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-sh,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">
<span class="" style="color:rgb(50,104,145);padding-right:0.75em">Announcement From Commerce Department (ntia.doc.gov)</span></h2></a></li><li style="font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin-bottom:0.75em">
<a class="" href="http://www.icann.org/en/news/press/releases/release-14mar14-en" style="display:block;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:none"><h2 class="" style="font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:1.0625rem;font-weight:400;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-sh,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">
<span class="" style="color:rgb(50,104,145);padding-right:0.75em">Statement From Icann (icann.org)</span></h2></a></li><li style="font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin-bottom:0.75em">
<a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/science/viewing-where-the-internet-goes.html" style="display:block;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:none"><div class="" style="float:left;clear:none;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;width:65px;height:auto;max-width:65px">
<img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/12/31/science/31INTE/31INTE-thumbStandard.jpg" alt="" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; border: 0px; display: block; width: auto;"><div class="" style></div></div><h2 class="" style="font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:1.0625rem;font-weight:400;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-sh,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);float:left;clear:right;width:223.5px">
<span class="" style="color:rgb(50,104,145);padding-right:0.75em">Viewing Where the Internet Goes</span>DEC. 30, 2013</h2></a></li><li style="font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin-bottom:0px">
<a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/technology/when-you-cant-tell-web-suffixes-without-a-scorecard.html" style="display:block;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:none"><div class="" style="float:left;clear:none;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;width:65px;height:auto;max-width:65px">
<img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/08/18/business/18-TECHNO/18-TECHNO-thumbStandard.jpg" alt="" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; border: 0px; display: block; width: auto;"><div class="" style></div></div><h2 class="" style="font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:1.0625rem;font-weight:400;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-sh,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);float:left;clear:right;width:223.5px">
<span class="" style="color:rgb(50,104,145);padding-right:0.75em">Technophoria: When You Can’t Tell Web Suffixes Without a Scorecard</span>AUG. 17, 2013</h2></a></li></ul><p class="" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-3" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">
But that transition has taken on a new urgency in the last year because of revelations that the United States intelligence community, particularly the National Security Agency, has been intercepting Internet traffic as part of its global spying efforts.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While other countries have called for the United States to turn over the keys to the system, many businesses around the world, dependent on the smooth functioning of the Internet for their livelihood, have expressed concern about what form the new organization will take.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“We don’t want to break the Internet,” said Laura DeNardis, a professor at American University and the author of “The Global War for Internet Governance,” a recent book on the subject.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">For consumers who use the Internet to stream movies or send email, nothing will change, if everything goes according to plan.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“We want to carefully transition to something that doesn’t just give the power to one stakeholder, but that takes into account the interests of private industry, of large users of the Internet, of the purchasers of domain names, of governments and of civil society,” Ms. DeNardis said.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Lawrence E. Strickling, the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, said on Friday that the United States would not accept a proposal that replaced it with a government-led or intergovernmental organization.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The Commerce Department also laid out principles that must govern any new body, including maintaining the openness of the Internet and maintaining its security and stability.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Icann will conduct a meeting that will be the first step in the transition process, beginning March 23 in Singapore.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“We are inviting governments, the private sector, civil society and other Internet organizations from the whole world to join us in developing this transition process,” said Fadi Chehadé, the president and chief executive of Icann. “All stakeholders deserve a voice in the management and governance of this global resource as equal partners.”</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">While the announcements were structured to portray a cooperative global community, there has been widespread hostility toward the United States since the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden began releasing documents showing the extent of United States global spying.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Those spying programs had nothing to do with the role of the United States or Icann in administering Internet addresses. But the perception that the United States was pulling all the strings led to a global uproar.</p>
<div class="" style="float:right;clear:right;margin:0px 0px 40px 7px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;font-size:16px"><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/technology/us-to-give-up-role-in-internet-domain-names.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0&version=meter+at+7&region=FixedCenter&pgtype=article&priority=true&module=RegiWall-Regi&action=click#story-continues-2" style="border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0px;width:1px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(50,104,145)">Continue reading the main story</a><div class="" style="width:334px;border:1px solid rgb(153,153,153);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(50,104,145)!important">
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/technology&pos=Box1&sn2=1e769007/da88728f&sn1=68f0313/e4725f4f&camp=nyt2014_300x250_module_OvenBakedGrits_hp_ros&ad=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314&goto=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/health/sweet-oven-baked-grits-and-millet-with-pecans-and-maple-syrup.html%3FWT.mc_id=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314-PH%26WT.mc_ev=click%26WT.mc_c=241538" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(50,104,145)!important"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/ads/marketing/mm14/dining/1394814092213_us.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="154" width="334" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; border: 0px; display: block; width: 300px;"></a><div style="padding:7px 9px 0px">
<h2 style="font-size:19px;line-height:21px;margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 4px;font-family:nyt-franklin,arial,helvetica,sans-serif!important"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/technology&pos=Box1&sn2=1e769007/da88728f&sn1=68f0313/e4725f4f&camp=nyt2014_300x250_module_OvenBakedGrits_hp_ros&ad=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314&goto=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/health/sweet-oven-baked-grits-and-millet-with-pecans-and-maple-syrup.html%3FWT.mc_id=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314-HDR%26WT.mc_ev=click%26WT.mc_c=241538" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,66,118)">Sweet oven-baked grits and millet with pecans and maple syrup</a></h2>
<ul class="" style="margin:0px;list-style:none;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(153,153,153);border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);font-size:12px;padding-bottom:10px;border-top-style:none!important;border-right-style:none!important;border-left-style:none!important">
<li style="margin-left:9px;line-height:1.0625rem!important;font-family:nyt-franklin,arial,helvetica,sans-serif!important;color:rgb(50,104,145)!important"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/technology&pos=Box1&sn2=1e769007/da88728f&sn1=68f0313/e4725f4f&camp=nyt2014_300x250_module_OvenBakedGrits_hp_ros&ad=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314&goto=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/dining/good-irish-coffee-starts-with-the-cow.html%3FWT.mc_id=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314-L1%26WT.mc_ev=click%26WT.mc_c=241538" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,66,118)">Good Irish coffee starts with the cow</a></li>
<li style="margin-left:9px;line-height:1.0625rem!important;font-family:nyt-franklin,arial,helvetica,sans-serif!important;color:rgb(50,104,145)!important"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/technology&pos=Box1&sn2=1e769007/da88728f&sn1=68f0313/e4725f4f&camp=nyt2014_300x250_module_OvenBakedGrits_hp_ros&ad=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314&goto=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/dining/thai-peanut-sauce-marries-well-with-shrimp-and-pineapple.html%3FWT.mc_id=DW-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M349-ROS-0314-L2%26WT.mc_ev=click%26WT.mc_c=241538" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,66,118)">Thai peanut sauce marries well with shrimp and pineapple</a></li>
</ul></div></div></div><div id="SponLinkA" class="" style="float:right;clear:right;margin:0px 0px 40px 7px;min-width:300px;min-height:250px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;font-size:16px">
<a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/technology/us-to-give-up-role-in-internet-domain-names.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0&version=meter+at+7&region=FixedCenter&pgtype=article&priority=true&module=RegiWall-Regi&action=click#story-continues-2" style="border:0px;height:1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0px;width:1px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(50,104,145)">Continue reading the main story</a><ins class="" style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"><ins style="display:inline-table;border:none;height:250px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:300px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="display:block;border:none;height:250px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:300px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins></div>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-2" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">
 President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil canceled a planned visit to the United States last year and called the activities “an assault on national sovereignty and individual rights” and “incompatible with relations between friendly nations.”</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Brazil also announced it would host Net Mundial, a global meeting on Internet governance, in April in São Paulo to discuss the coming transition.  </p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">But by announcing its plans before the Brazil meeting, “the U.S. is trying to make sure the transition happens on its own terms, and that the U.S. is setting the rules for the transition,” said Greg Shatan, a partner at the law firm Reed Smith in New York.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">With its statement that no government-led organization would take over Icann, the United States also made clear that the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations affiliate that oversees global telephone traffic, would not be allowed to take over Internet governance. That was an issue last year at an I.T.U. conference in Dubai.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Ms. DeNardis said that a key to a new governance structure would be to keep in place the expertise that currently allows the Internet to function smoothly.</p>
<p class="" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin:0px 0px 1em 135px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4375rem;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',times,serif;width:540px;max-width:540px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">“It is very easy to take the stability of the Internet for granted,” she said.</p>
<div><div dir="ltr">Glenn McKnight<br><a href="mailto:mcknight.glenn@gmail.com" target="_blank">mcknight.glenn@gmail.com</a><br>skype  gmcknight<br>twitter gmcknight<br>.</div></div>
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