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North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Wired: Congress to Enter ICANN Fray
> Congress to Enter ICANN Fray > By Declan McCullagh > > 2:00 a.m. March 14, 2002 PST > > WASHINGTON -- Official Washington's post-Sept. 11 preoccupation with > heightened security measures has finally extended to the underlying structure > of the Internet. > > The U.S. Congress is planning oversight hearings to investigate the Internet > Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the troubled nonprofit > organization tasked by the Clinton administration with overseeing domain names > and Internet addresses. > > One reason for the heightened scrutiny of ICANN is a controversial proposal > that the group's president circulated in advance of this week's meeting in > Accra, Ghana. The turmoil it created exposed how public support for ICANN -- > never all that strong -- has waned since the organization's creation in 1998. > > For U.S. politicos who have erected their political careers on promises of > stability and security, the prospect of radical changes to a body that > oversees the sensitive areas of addresses and domain names is something less > than palatable. > > "More fundamental questions also need to be addressed, such as whether ICANN > is even the most appropriate organization to be tasked with such a critical > mission, which is central to our national security," wrote Sen. Conrad Burns > (R-Montana) in a letter asking for hearings. > > Another reason for the hearings, which the House Commerce committee has > promised and the Senate Commerce committee is weighing, are long-standing > complaints about ICANN's lack of accountability. It has refused to let one of > its own board members review its financial information, and many anti-tax > Republicans remember ICANN's abortive plans to levy fees on anyone who owns a > domain name. > > < snip > > > http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,51041,00.html
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