[RoosterRedux]

They're not giving away the internet itself. There is no central governance of the internet because the internet doesn't have a headquarters. The internet is just a network connecting servers. It's nowhere and everywhere.

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

[babble-on]

Stop! No one wants your coherent logic and restrained, informed point of view. This is a thread for paranoid and overblown rhetoric!!

[boycott]

So why is it necessary to give up control? Why would anyone else want control?

The UN wants to govern it and tax it all in the name of redistribution of wealth. Also, to police the Internet so that it’s not offensive to muzzies.

[Pontiac]

Suppose that the new ICANN regime decides that they don’t want to issue you a domain because you are a proponent of liberty in a totalitarian nation?

[NonValueAdded]

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

Aye, but therein lies the rub. Think of this analogy: "Issue you a carry permit? No, you have no need. Request denied."

[Louis Foxwell]

He who designs the map controls the traffic.

[hawg-farmer - FR..October 1998]

EXACTLY Rooster...CCNA..

[boycott]

So why has China and Russia lobbied for it to be out of our control? Why?

[Lakeshark]

Is there any good reason to change it?

[boycott]

If you don’t believe that ICANN could be used for more than assigning names/addresses upon request, you should do a little more research. It could be used for a lot more. And if it’s under a different governing body, it will be — especially if it’s under UN control.

[newfreep]

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

...and can delete web addresses, too.

He who controls the addresses controls the flow of information.

[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.