Will Multistakeholderism Prevail By September 2015?

Since the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the late 1980’s, the US Government and Internet stakeholders envisioned that the United States' stewardship role in the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions would be temporary. Public Knowledge welcomes this transfer as a fulfillment of many years of US promises to the international community. Although there has been some talk to extend the September 30th deadline and offer the respective working groups more time to complete their work to set up a new system for oversight and proper accountability measures, the multistakeholder community is continuing to operate with this deadline in mind.

A successful transition by the set deadline would be a big step forward in showing that the Internet is not only in the domain of national governments, but that users around the world also have an essential role in shaping its future. Furthermore, the development of the Internet, driven by technical standards organizations, governments, private corporations, and civil society groups, has always been conducted through a multistakeholder process, and therefore, it is important that its governance continue to be reflective of this reality. A successful transition of IANA functions from the purview of the United States to the global community would demonstrate a vote of confirmation and trust on the multistakeholder model that the US advocates internationally.