ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the not-for-profit entity responsible for the technical coordination of the Internet's domain name system (DNS). On September 30, 2009, NTIA, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce, reached agreement with ICANN on an Affirmation of Commitments that completed the transition of the technical coordination of the DNS to a multi-stakeholder, private-sector led model and contains provisions to ensure accountability and transparency in ICANN's decision-making with the goal of protecting the interests of global Internet users, as well as mechanisms to address the security stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS.
NTIA represents the U.S. government in ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), which is structured to provide advice to the ICANN Board on the public policy aspects of the broad range of issues pending before ICANN.
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--As Prepared for Delivery--
Letter to ICANN Chairman Crocker Transmitting Assessment of IANA Transition Proposal
Reviewing the IANA Transition Proposal
Over the past two decades, the Internet has touched the lives of billions of people around the globe in profound ways. It has fueled economic growth, giving even the most remote villages the opportunity to sell their products in faraway lands. It has fueled innovation, connecting mobile gadgets and household appliances. And it has torn down barriers to speech, enabling diverse viewpoints to be heard across the political spectrum.
The Obama Administration is committed to doing everything within our power to preserve and protect the open, free-flowing global Internet, which has revolutionized the world. That’s why two years ago, we announced our intention to transition the U.S. government’s stewardship role of the Internet Domain Name System to the global multistakeholder community.
Since our announcement, the Internet community – made up of businesses, technical experts, academics and civil society – has risen to the challenge by developing a transition plan that has achieved broad community support. The community delivered that proposal to NTIA yesterday, marking the culmination of the largest multistakeholder process ever undertaken. Stakeholders spent more than 26,000 working hours on the proposal, exchanged more than 33,000 messages on mailing lists, and held more than 600 meetings and calls.