The European Commission (EC) wants the management and operation of the Internet to be shared with the international community in an effort to make it more open, accountable and secure.
In the aftermath of the NSA leak, the EC has put forward new proposals that seek to undercut the overbearing influence of US Internet governing bodies such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a department of ICANN which allocates IP addresses and manages root nameservers for the Domain Name System (DNS).
The EC also suggested strengthening the Internet Governance Forum, a body for governments and industry stakeholders to discuss and debate policy, and review any outstanding conflicts in national law related to the accountability and management of current Internet infrastructure.
In a press release, the EC mentioned the US government’s surveillance techniques that were originally brought to light by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden last year.
Although the release does not draw connections between the leaks and ICANN’s powers, Neelie Kroes (Vice President for the EC) suggested that governments should not control the new model.
“Europe must contribute to a credible way forward for global internet governance,” said Kroes. “We must strengthen the multi-stakeholder model to preserve the Internet as a fast engine for innovation.”
Kroes once again drew attention to the International Telecommunications Union – a UN agency that was criticised by the European Parliament in November 2012 when it was suggested it should take on powers currently held by US bodies.
Source: The Next Web