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No debate but the internet as a whole can not be "controlled". It is a network of networks. Go back to the 50's or 60's with maBell phones. Did Bell own all the phones in the world? The phone company in Russia was connected to the phone company in China and China was connected to Australia and Australia was connected to India and India was connected to Russia and so on. They were networks connected to other networks. Russia could not control the US phones nor could the US control Chinese phones nor could the Chinese control India's phones. Same with the internet. China controls it's internet network same as the Russian control it's network but neither can control each others. The US can't control the internet and never could. ICANN can't control content of websites and never could. ICANN simply registers domain names (.org,.com,.whatever) Russia and China can certainly gripe about what is said about them on the net but they can do nothing. They simply have no control over another countries internet network and laws and never can. The only bad that can happen is a divided internet where you can't look at China's internet or China can't look at Russia's internet and both of those can't connect to the US.

There are representatives from 171 countries on ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) who advise ICANN’s 20-member board. And yes, this includes representatives from countries like Russia, China, and the U.K. and US But it’s important to note that ICANN cannot be easily swayed by the influence of a single or even multiple countries. Any recommendations made by the GAC must be unanimous—so if even one country objects to a proposed action, the recommendation will not be allowed to move forward.

Will the transition cause widespread internet censorship? ICANN is solely a technical administrator—and according to a public statement from ICANN the organization does not have the ability to regulate internet content in the first place.

And the fact remains that countries like Russia and China already impose internet censorship within their own borders—and that’s unlikely to change whether or not ICANN remains under U.S. authority. ICANN departing from American control does not mean it will fall under the rule of a different regime. It will be a fully independent company with no government control. ICANN will continue to operate its day-to-day functions (domain names) as usual, but as an entirely privatized entity that no longer reports to a governmental department.