U.S. Moves on ICANN Could Lead to More Government Control of Internet, O'Rielly Says
FCC action on net neutrality -- and NTIA plans to transition oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority and domain name system functions to a global multistakeholder group -- could have profoundly negative effects for Internet freedom, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Tuesday. O'Rielly dedicated nearly his entire 20-minute speech at an FCBA luncheon to the future of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. O'Rielly’s remarks harkened back to similar warnings issued by former Commissioner Robert McDowell, O'Rielly’s predecessor on the FCC.
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"While NTIA’s proposal may sound like a good idea, when you dig deeper, transitioning the domain name functions to a new, global multistakeholder community raises some serious concerns that must be addressed prior to moving forward,” O'Rielly said. “The ability to control domain names may provide the ability to control Internet content and access, so the stakes are extremely high.”
O'Rielly said the “fatal flaw” in NTIA’s proposal is that it could lead to foreign governments or quasi-governmental bodies taking over Internet governance. “Although many have interpreted NTIA’s announcement as a prohibition on accepting any proposals that would involve foreign governments, last Thursday, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling openly admitted that this prohibition only applied to government-led organizations,” O'Rielly said. “This means that there is room for NTIA to consider foreign governments as part of any new multistakeholder community that will be involved in the future oversight of ICANN. I fundamentally disagree with this position, because I worry that foreign government involvement could grow into undue influence or power over the functions of the Internet."
There are no guarantees foreign governments won’t take control of ICANN, O'Rielly said. “If this proposal is to go forward, it must be with verifiable, crystal clear, airtight guarantees that there cannot be a role for foreign governments or quasi-governmental entities in Internet governance now or in the future,” he said. “NTIA should explicitly put this question on the table. I don’t see how contract law or any other mechanism could provide some type of reclamation or reversion authority to the U.S. should something go wrong with this multistakeholder body.”
Another reason for the U.S. government to exercise caution is that the current system works well, O'Rielly said. “It is not clear that a new structure -- even one that is free of government involvement -- would be better than the current U.S. stewardship,” he said. “The U.S. government’s hands-off, but watchful eye approach has provided the right system of checks and balances to enable ICANN to function rather independently while still protecting certain basic rights and principles of Internet users."
O'Rielly tied his concerns back to the FCC’s ongoing work on net neutrality. “While it is clear that foreign governments will not hesitate to interfere with Internet services and applications when doing so suits their national needs, they also will not hesitate to point out the hypocrisy if and when the United States adopts its own controls over the Internet,” he said. “This is an added reason why I am concerned that the FCC will press forward with new network neutrality regulations. At this pivotal moment for Internet freedom, the FCC’s network neutrality proceeding could severely contradict and undermine the U.S. government’s international position."
O'Rielly told us after the speech he does have questions about the FCC’s push on cybersecurity and how strong of role the agency can play in that arena.