US to Give Up Role in Internet Domain Names
WASHINGTON - The United States will stop overseeing the system of numbers and domain names that govern Internet traffic in 2015 and will turn over related administrative functions to a global group, yet to be determined, government officials said on Friday.
The United States has managed that function since the dawn of the Internet, assigning the names and numbers that make up Internet addresses. It will now ask the global Internet governing body, known as Icann, to put together a new plan for those functions, known as the domain name system.
The United States has been planning the transition since 1997, government officials said, but it has taken on greater urgency in the last year because of revelations that United States intelligence agencies, particularly the National Security Agency, have been intercepting Internet traffic and using it to spy on countries and individuals.
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As use of the Internet has expanded around the globe, other countries and multinational corporations have pushed for the United States' role to be curtailed and turned over to what officials call a multi-stakeholder group, including businesses, governments, consumers and others.
Announcement From Commerce Department (ntia.doc.gov) Statement From Icann (icann.org)
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