Dive Brief:
- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has officially taken full control of the Domain Naming System (DNS) from the U.S. government, as reported by ABC News.
- The handover, which has been in plans for years, was essentially a formality as ICANN was already managing while officially reporting to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
- Republicans in Washington D.C. attempted to turn the handover into a political issue, but most statements out of the capitol indicated lawmakers didn’t fully understand what the transfer meant in practical terms.
Dive Insight:
Given that ICANN has effectively run the DNS, albeit with U.S. government oversight, for years the likelihood of any issues or changes for developers and end users is unlikely. At the same time, marketers might want to be a bit more vigilant than usual about their web properties on the chance there are any glitches.
The switch has no effect on how web content is, or isn’t censored, contrary to what some think. This was the issue that caused some Republican lawmakers to try to find a way to block the move, fearing that it could open the door to foreign entities censoring content on websites.
Hoping to clarify any confusion over its scope, ICANN published a statement outlining its role on the organization’s website: “Right now, there is nothing about ICANN or its contract with the U.S. Government that prevents a country from censoring or blocking content within its own borders. ICANN is a technical organization and does not have the remit or ability to regulate content on the Internet. Sovereign states regulate content on the Internet within their borders — that is true now and will remain true after the transition. The regulation of content on the Internet has nothing to do with ICANN or the IANA functions.”