House Communications Subcommittee Strikes DOTCOM Deal

The House Communications Subcommittee has come up with a bipartisan agreement on legislation overseeing the US Government hand-off of oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Internet domain naming functions to a multistakeholder group. The Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act or DOTCOM Act (HR 805), with new bipartisan amendments, "gives Congress a proper oversight role without unnecessarily delaying or undermining the multistakeholder process," said Rep John Shimkus (R-IL), who authored the bill. He said he has always taken a trust and verify approach, and suggested the amended bill would not that. The legislation will be voted on on June 10, according to Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). The new amendments, which are all billed as bipartisan, would:

• Require the administration to submit to Congress a report certifying that the transition plans meet the United States’ objective of global Internet openness
• Require [National Telecommunications & Information Administration] to certify that changes to [the Internet corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] bylaws that the multistakeholder process has required as conditions of the transition have been implemented
• Provide safeguards designed to make ICANN more accountable to the Internet community
• Give Congress 30 legislative days to review NTIA’s report before NTIA is permitted to relinquish its role in IANA