Why geeks say Ted Cruz is wrong about ICANN

csmonitor.com ^ | Laurent Belsie

[hoosierham]

The U.S.of A. is the only nation with free speech enshrined in its Constitution (despite the fact it is being attacked by muzzies and socialists).

Keep ICAAN American.

[Kandy Atz]

One only needs to look at what the un has become, and the power they seek over nations, and imagine a far more nefarious outcome with global control of any aspect of the Internet.

This is from a blog I wrote in 2013.
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Here is a yet another example of what is wrong with the un, the curiously named Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The title sounds noble enough. Who is for racism, right? And then you read what tops the agenda of their taxpayer paid meeting/vacation in Geneva - stopping hate speech spread via Internet. Heck, I even have a quote from El Jefe herself.

“Where does the right of expression, which we all want to respect, stop and the need to sanction and prevent hate speech begin? What is the point in time when one right has to recognize that it cannot be exercised if it implies the violation of another one,” — UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansieri
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They are already discussing ways to curb “hate speech” on an international basis. Why make it any easier for them?

[freeandfreezing]

ICANN is just the internet address book. It assigns names/addresses upon request.

It does more than that. And a lot of the activities it is involved with could have a direct and negative impact on internet users if it changes, or expands the scope and nature of its activities.

For example, ICANN sets regulations regarding registrars, and the policies they must follow. One area of contention is ICANN's attempt to reduce the availability of WHOIS information. Another is the existence of what some people consider rogue registrars.

Another potentially problematic area is fees that ICANN is authorized to collect. As it stands today, ICANN can charge yearly fees for each domain name, or domain namespace. What would happen if those fees became large enough to impact web sites like the one we are posting on?

Also, ICANN's work related to domain names is closely related to the DNS system. While you are technically correct that the internet can run without DNS, for most actual systems and users it can't.

[RoosterRedux]

Thx for that.

How hard would it be for ICANN to be circumvented by another entity seeking to replace it? Could there be a separate, mirror internet created to use the same network and worldwide system of servers devoted to the internet?

[9YearLurker]

Spare me. I’m as much an “Internet expert” as those quoted and that’s hogwash.

[freeandfreezing]

Of course they could be replaced/ignored/etc.

But the disruption and expense would be considerable.

It may be better just to reduce the scope of their activities to the absolute minimum required - before they turn into a bloated UN style bureaucracy.

[RoosterRedux]

It is in the interest of American as well as international business that the internet not be micromanaged or abused/controlled by some useless bureaucracy (thinking EU, not UN).

Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Alibaba, etc will not--cannot--survive control of the internet by faceless bureaucrats. And they and their customers can afford the considerable expense to wrestle the internet from any bureaucracy.