Re: [ICANN-EU] US Government's ultimate control.

["Jeanette Hofmann" <jeanette@medea.wz-berlin.de>]

> To whom should US Government hand over the ultimate responsibility, if
> they had to do it right now, or last week, without destroying the
> Internet as we now it?

This is indeed a good question as the USG's dormant authority 
includes ICANN too. Frankly, I am at a loss for a good answer. 
Thanks to the USG's intervention in the international consensus-
building process preceding the formation of ICANN, there are at  
present no self-governing structures ready to take over the root zone 
file. This doesn't mean though that they couldn't be formed should the 
USG ever be willing to hand over it's authority. This I fear will never 
happen, and be it only for domestic policy reasons. 

jeanette



> Yes, I am sceptical to the USG, too, but the alternative is worse: Throw
> it to the wolves...
> 
> Best regards,
> -- 
> Alf Hansen                     Mail address:
>                                  UNINETT FAS A/S
> aha@uninett.no                   N-7465 Trondheim, Norway
> Home page:                     Phone: +47 73 55 79 00
> http://domen.uninett.no/~alf/  Fax:   +47 73 55 79 01