Aplus.net Blog

Here at Aplus.Net, we want to make sure our customers have a good idea of what’s going on with the agencies that decide the fate of the Internet. The most logical place to start is ICANN, the non-profit organization that oversees domain name registrations and IP addresses on behalf of the U.S. government.

That’s one big mandate, and it covers every corner of the Internet. For example, when it was recently decided to add many more new domain name suffixes (such as .biz, .tv, the just-approved .asia, and many more) to the originals (.com, .org, .net, and .gov), ICANN was the entity charged with the task. Every person, organization, or company that hosts a website must deal with ICANN. If you have a website, you have an account with ICANN—although it’s probably handled by your hosting provider. And every new government regulation must correlate with ICANN’s activities.

Having this essential, central role makes ICANN an obvious lightning rod for criticism. Much of it stems from the fact that ICANN works on behalf of the U.S. government, yet regulates domain names on a worldwide basis. That’s even more risky than it sounds. Consider the recent situation in which ICANN was pressured to suspend the domain name of a British company that has refused to comply with rulings handed down by U.S. courts. Read the story here.

The very nature of a U.S.-based organization—even a non-profit—dictating rules for the Internet worldwide is bound to cause some controversy. To offset this, ICANN’s board of directors represents six continents, and it holds many of its public forums in remote overseas locations—which in turn generates complaints about making decisions in locales far removed from most Internet users. Its policy of keeping domain name registration in the public forum is heavily criticized for the tool that provides to hackers and spam merchants; yet ICANN is also condemned by some for lack of public disclosure in other areas. A reluctance to impose sweeping regulations is among the other complaints.

Of course, there are reasons why ICANN does things these way, reasons that rely on the necessities of commerce and transparency. You can find more details on the organization’s workings on ICANN’s website. Its Wikipedia entry provides some good details, as well.

Whatever you think of it, ICANN is definitely an organization with a lot of power. Therefore, as Internet business people, it’s in our best interests to stay on top of what’s happening. Check Google News for ICANN every now and then. You’ll be surprised at how many stories appear, and how the decisions made by ICANN affect the entire Web.

Any comments? What do you think of ICANN? Have you had any experience with them, or any opinions to share?