US court case may shed light on ICANN’s legal status

[Commentary] By a strange and convoluted process, a pending legal case about payments to terror victims may end up clarifying several open questions about Internet law.

The US Congress has authorized lawsuits against sovereign governments for terrorism that has harmed Americans. Plaintiffs in several cases have successfully convinced US courts that the government of Iran is responsible for funding terrorism against American citizens.

Getting the money is not so easy, since Iran has been almost totally cut off from the US banking system. However, Iran has not been cut off from the Internet, and it turns out that by virtue of being on the Internet, Iran has financial ties to American entities after all.

On June 24, the US District Court for DC authorized preliminary steps towards seizing Iranian payments to ICANN in several ongoing cases. The court authorized subpoenas against ICANN for information on its negotiations with Iran, and issued writs of attachment against any Iranian payments.

[Rabkin is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University]