Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) chief Fadi Chehade on Monday said the organization is on course to break free of U.S. oversight next year.
Chehade said although there is no strict deadline, substantial progress has been made toward ICANN coming under the control of a diverse, global group of stakeholders rather than the U.S. government.
The U.S. government has said it is open to not renewing a contract with ICANN, provided a new oversight system is in place.
ICANN is planning to deliver a proposal for the new system to the U.S. Department of Commerce next year.
"If the U.S. government is satisfied, they would not renew the contract," Chehade says.
As the U.S. relinquishes control of ICANN, foreign governments and major corporations are positioning themselves to try to take over. However, "the United States will not allow the global Internet to be co-opted by any person, entity, or nation seeking to substitute their parochial world view for the collective wisdom of this community," says Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. She says the U.S. will hold ICANN accountable to the "global multistakeholder community."
From Agence France-Presse
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