European countries back Obama administration’s domain transition

The European Council has backed an Obama administration plan to loosen America’s grip on the system that governs Internet domain names.

The Council, which helps articulate the policy agenda of the European Union and represents 28 governments, said in a statement on Friday that it supported the transfer being done “in a way that does not expose this function to capture by narrow commercial or government interests.”

{mosads}Under the proposal, the Department of Commerce would no longer oversee the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Instead, ICANN would be linked to a group of multinational stakeholders.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have said they are worried the organization isn’t ready for the transfer. On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will vote on a bill to give them more oversight over the transfer.

Though ICANN’s current contract with the Department of Commerce is set to expire in September, even supporters of the transfer acknowledge it is possible that it will take longer to complete.

“The Council invites the global multi-stakeholder community to make further progress in the development of the transition process and efforts to retain the Internet as a single, open, neutral, free, and un-fragmented network,” the European Council said in its statement. “At the same time, the Council notes that any unjustified delay of this process could negatively impact Internet governance debates worldwide.”

Fadi Chehadé, the CEO of ICANN, said earlier this month that the transition remains on the right track.

“I’m never comfortable, but I am optimistic, and I believe that all interests are now aligned. … Everybody sees that this makes sense,” he said, according to Reuters.