Plan for ICANN’s Future Urgently Needed

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the private, non-profit steward of the global domain name system, does not have a mechanism to protect itself against governmental interference, CDT warned in comments filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce. While ICANN has made major strides in improving the transparency of its procedures, there is urgent need for a plan to guarantee its independence when its current contracts with the U.S. government are ended. Absent such such protections, CDT reluctantly opposed ICANN’s request for early termination of one of its contracts.