Public Interest Groups Challenge Government Control of ICANN Reforms

Public interest groups and other Internet watchdogs on Monday denounced a proposal that would give the world's governments a greater say in how the Internet is run. Under the plan to overhaul the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers . . . Public interest groups and other Internet watchdogs on Monday denounced a proposal that would give the world's governments a greater say in how the Internet is run. Under the plan to overhaul the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), representatives chosen by governments would replace ones directly elected by the Internet community at large.

The proposal, issued Sunday by ICANN president Stuart Lynn, would drop the U.S. government's original objective of transitioning to the private sector the policy decisions over domain names and other issues.

Karl Auerbach, an ICANN board member often critical of his own organization, said Lynn's proposal goes in the wrong direction. "This is closing the door, clamming up and being more non-responsive to the public," Auerbach said.

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