Top Dem: Don’t let Internet be ‘hijacked’

The Obama administration should be sure that no other country is able to assert undue control over the back end of the Internet when the U.S. hands over the keys, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) said on Friday.

Eshoo — the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology — told President Obama in a letter that the U.S. should not allow a key Web management system to be “hijacked” by authoritarian regimes.

{mosads}The U.S. should wait to give up its oversight of the system behind global domain names until the international nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) “has fully embraced the principles of openness, security, stability and resiliency – principles that have guided the management of the Internet since its inception,” Eshoo wrote.

In March, the Commerce Department announced plans to hand over to ICANN oversight of the technical system that allows people to visit the websites they’re looking for, known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Some Republicans and industry groups have criticized the move, worrying that it could empower countries like China or Russia to assert control.

In her letter, Eshoo said that the administration could make sure that does not happen by ensuring there are “built-in mechanisms for transparency and accountability.”

Additionally, ICANN should be reformed with new checks and balances so that no single voice gets to override the organization, she proposed.

ICANN is holding a weeklong meeting in Los Angeles, Calif., next week.