I’ve got a new article up at Brainwash about the confused state of the debate over Internet governance. Most pundits seem to assume that ICANN has vastly more power than it really does. ICANN’s authority is largely dependent on the support of the Internet community. It can’t kick people off the Internet, censor them, or invade their privacy.
What it does do is perform an important coordinating functions that helps the world Internet community reach consensus on technical quesitons. It’s vital that that process not be undully politicized. The UN has neither the technical expertise nor the institutional self-restraint to excercize that role effectively.
Still, it would have a certain amount of poetic justice. The UN has spent the last 60 years pretending to keep order in the realm of international politics while, in reality, nations mostly ignored them and did as they pleased. It would be fitting if the UN attempted to assert its authority over the Internet, only to find that people ignored them there as well.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
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