US must ensure the Internet has good stewards

[Commentary] The United States will begin the process of giving up the last bits of formal control it has over the functioning of the Internet. What started as a small, US government-sponsored computer network will become a massive web of interconnected people and devices overseen not by any government but a benign, dutiful nonprofit. Or at least that’s the positive vision. The reality is that there are dangers to the transition, and US officials must be clear that they won’t relinquish their authorities until and unless it’s clear that a free, functional Internet will be the result. The Commerce Department’s contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) expires next year. If the nonprofit hasn’t organized itself to ensure the continued functioning of an open, free and functional Internet by then, US authorities should not let global politics stop them from extending their supervision.