Testimony
of John M. R. Kneuer
Acting Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information
United States
Department of Commerce
Before the
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and the
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
September 21, 2006
Mr. Chairman,
Thank you and the members of the Committee for this opportunity to testify on the progress of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ICANN and the Department.
The Administration recognizes the
critical importance of the Internet to the economic and social well-being of the
The Department’s Relationship with ICANN
The Department continues to believe that the stability and security of the Internet domain name and addressing system (DNS) can best be achieved by transitioning the coordination of the technical functions related to the management of the DNS to the private sector. The vehicle for achieving this goal is the MOU between the Department and ICANN. As the Committee will recall, ICANN was formed in 1998 in response to the Department of Commerce’s call for a partner to lead the transition to private sector management of the DNS.
In September, 2003, the Department and ICANN agreed to renew the MOU for a period of three years, with several date-specific milestones and broad tasks aimed at guiding ICANN to a stable, independent, and sustainable organization. The expectation of the Department was that the three-year time frame would allow ICANN sufficient opportunity to formalize appropriate relationships with the organizations that form the technical underpinnings of the Internet, secure the necessary resources to ensure its long-term independence, improve its mechanisms for broad participation by all Internet stakeholders, and continue to improve its decision-making processes. The Department plays no role in the internal governance or day-to-day operations of the organization. However, under the terms of the MOU, the Department monitors and ensures that ICANN performs the MOU tasks, and offers expertise and advice on certain discrete issues.
As you may recall,
this relationship was the focus of much debate at last year's United Nations
World Summit on the Information Society.
To provide clarity to this debate, the Administration issued the U.S.
Principles on the Internet’s Domain Name and Addressing System. In this set of principles, the Administration
reiterated its commitment to preserving the security and stability of the
Internet domain name and addressing system; recognized that governments have
legitimate public policy and sovereignty concerns with respect to the
management of their country code top level domains; reaffirmed its support for
ICANN; and encouraged continued dialogue on Internet governance issues. After much discussion and debate, and with
your help and support, the international community arrived at a consensus on
the importance of maintaining the stability and security of the Internet, the
effectiveness of existing Internet governance arrangements, and the importance
of the private sector in day-to-day operations of the Internet.
Measuring Progress
The current MOU was deliberately crafted to permit the Department and
ICANN to measure progress toward discrete goals and objectives. When this MOU was entered into in September,
2003, ICANN had just completed an internal review and reform effort, and was
well into the process of implementing the structural and organizational changes
called for through that process. In the
course of the past three years, ICANN has successfully met many of the MOU’s date-specific
milestones, which included the following:
ICANN has also made steady progress toward the MOU’s broader tasks,
including: entering into an agreement with the Regional Internet Registries to
facilitate the development of global addressing policy, and developing and
implementing new accountability framework agreements with many country code top
level domain operators.
Future Relationship
The current MOU expires on September 30, 2006. Over the course of the past year, the
Department has conducted an internal review of its relationship with
ICANN. To complement the Department’s internal
review of ICANN’s progress under the MOU, the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) initiated a public consultation process to
obtain the views of all interested stakeholders. In May, 2006, NTIA issued a Notice of Inquiry on the Continued
Transition of the Technical Coordination and Management of the Internet Domain
Name and Addressing System to solicit views on such issues as:
·
ICANN’s progress in completing the core tasks and
milestones contained in the current MOU, and whether these activities are
sufficient for transition to private sector DNS management by the scheduled
expiration date of the MOU, of September 30, 2006;
·
Whether the principles underlying ICANN’s core
mission (i.e. stability, competition, representation, bottom-up coordination
and transparency) remain relevant and whether additional principles should be
considered;
·
Determining whether the tasks and milestones
contained in the current MOU remain relevant, and/or whether new tasks would be
necessary;
·
Assessing whether all key stakeholders are
effectively represented and involved in ICANN’s activities, and if not, how
that could be accomplished; and
·
Whether new methods or processes should be
considered to encourage greater efficiency and responsiveness.
NTIA received and analyzed over 700 responses
from individuals, private corporations, trade associations, non-governmental
entities, and foreign governments. NTIA
invited a representative sample of these interested stakeholders to participate
in a public meeting on July 26, 2006. Representatives
from the Regional Internet Registries, the root server operators, registrars,
registries, country code top level domain operators, the Internet Society, the
Internet research and development community, trademark interests, the user
community, the business community, and a representative from the Canadian
government shared their perspectives on the questions NTIA posed to the global
Internet community. Well over one
hundred interested stakeholders participated in the public meeting.
This public consultation process revealed
broad support for continuing the transition the coordination of the technical functions
related to the management of the DNS to the private sector through the continued
partnership between the Department and ICANN.
A majority of interested stakeholders continue to endorse the original
principles put forward to guide the DNS transition – stability and security;
competition; bottom-up policy coordination; and broad representation. Equally importantly, the consultation process
revealed strong support for a more specific focus on transparency and
accountability in ICANN’s internal procedures and decision-making processes,
and the continued involvement of the Department of Commerce in this transition.
As we approach the end of this term of the MOU, we are working with ICANN to negotiate the next phase of our continued partnership.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Department continues to be supportive of
private sector leadership in the coordination
of the technical functions related to the management of the DNS as envisioned in the ICANN model. Furthermore, the Department continues to
support the work of ICANN as the coordinator for the technical functions
related to the management of the Internet DNS.
Both ICANN and the Department agree that preserving the security and
stability of the Internet DNS is a critical priority that will guide/govern the
next stage in the transition process.
Thank you and I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.