The body that regulates the Internet’s numbering and naming system is making moves to make governing the Web more transparent in the hopes that will meet the demands by some governments.
According to IDG News, ICANN has set up a panel that includes government representatives to report on possible changes to Internet governance.
Until now Internet governance has been done through independent agencies like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and ICANN run by IT specialists. However, ICANN itself has the authority to do its job under contract from the U.S. government.
The move comes after a number of organizations that oversee Internet technical standards, like ICANN and the Internet Society (ICSOC) issued a statement last month expressing concern that trust of Internet users has been undermined.
It didn’t say explicitly, but some of that comes from revelations that U.S., British and Canadian electronic spy agencies have been effective at using the Internet to break into government and commercial data centres.
It also comes after the failure of governments to reach unanimous agreement on new Internet rules in Dubai. A non-binding statement from the conference said all governments should have an equal role in Internet governance.
The ICANN panel will hold its first meeting next month and issue a report later next year.
Separately IDG News reported that China is increasing its grip on social media sites in the country.