[governance] USG on ICANN - no movement here

[John Levine]

>DOC has commented on ICANN's call for comments on improving institutional
>confidence at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/comments/2008/ICANN_080730.html
>
>The statement reads like an end of term report for a non-performing student,
>with barely a word of encouragement. 

The US DOC has always made it crystal clear that they will never under
any plausible conditions relinquish their authority over the DNS root
and, hence, over ICANN.  This policy has never changed, and their
recent note contains no surprises to anyone who's been paying
attention.  There has certainly been feverish wishful thinking inside
and outside of ICANN imagining that somehow ICANN and the root will
float free, but it ain't going to happen.

The US DOC are not stupid, and they have been extremely careful not to
act in ways that would impinge on the sovereignty of other countries,
so although there's been a certain amount of harrumphing on principle
from some governments, in reality they know that ICANN desperately
needs the DOC's adult supervision.  The only perceptible thing the DOC
has done in recent years has been to give a gentle hint that .XXX
would not be a good idea, a hint with which I dare say all the
harrumphing governments would agree.

So do what you want to try to set up Internet governance processes,
but don't waste your time imagining that the DOC will go away.

R's,
John
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