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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
[If y'all thought ICANN was bad... --Declan] --- http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/021020/72/33wtu.html "Global Organization Seeks Voice in Internet Addressing System" Wall Street Journal (10/21/02) P. B4; Delaney, Kevin J. Last week at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organizational conference, ITU member representatives voted for a resolution calling on the ITU to take an active role in all "discussions and initiatives" involving domain names and the domain-name system (DNS). Some view the ITU vote as a move to step into the uncertainly surrounding domain names and the DNS, both of which are overseen by ICANN, a group that has been criticized even by ICANN allies. The ITU is affiliated with the United Nations, is a global organization, is dominated by international telecom companies, and must seek member government approval for ITU policies; some domain name industry observers believe the massive ITU structure would further marginalize domain name industry and public advocate voices. The U.S. government as well as the tech community have opposed ITU involvement as being too cumbersome. In contrast, ICANN ostensibly is free from government involvement in day-to- day decision-making. The domain name industry is estimated to be a $2.5 billion industry, and control of a domain name, such as amazon.com, is vital to the many businesses that own them. Because governments are involved in the ITU, analysts such as Syracuse University professor Milton Mueller believe that governments could use ITU power over DNS issues as "a convenient point of leverage for enforcement regulation." The disarray at ICANN is leading some to conclude that private- sector management of the DNS cannot work, while Yale Law School instructor David Johnson notes that ITU's foundation in governments would provide "enforceable global regulations." Some experts say ICANN should be structured to focus on technical issues, while the ITU could be responsible for public policy; however, others say such issues often overlap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan -------------------------------------------------------------------------