Multilateral Control of Internet Infrastructure and its Impact on US Sovereignty

1
Multilateral Control of Internet Infrastructure
and its Impact on US Sovereignty

• Kenneth Neil Cukier

Or 80 pages with 150 notes in 9 slides and 15
minutes -- going from back to front
2
Conclusion

• US ceding authority over XCANN represents a
  slight loss of sovereignty and power, but
  provided the USs broader interests are achieved,
  this is not a reason to change policy

3
Key US interests

• Decentralized open architecture
• Multi-stakeholder process
• International legitimacy for ICANN
• No single organization in control
• White Paper goals (open, accountable, etc.)

4
ICANN matters, but isnt vital Power is symbolic
or illusory

• US only has power so long as it remains unused
• Whatever benefit of control, US can achieve by
  other means
• More problems for US from retaining control than
  ceding it.

5
Empirical v. theoretical power

• A few examples
• Wiretap and IETF
• WIPO and US law
• Root server placement and ICANN process
• .kids and .kids.us

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Why we should care

• Internet coordination is the one place, that if
  used, could impact mainstream political matters
  -- and freedoms/rights -- like free expression,
  privacy, low-cost access, etc.

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Why we shouldnt care

• Tough to find a way that using control of ICANN
  to promote national interest cant be done more
  easily and effectively on a national level instead

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The horror stories

• are so remote that theres no vital interest at
  stake, e.g.
• ICANN deletes .fr from the root
• XCANN cancels US IP number assignments

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What we need to remember

• The Internet Protocol is just that, a protocol,
  an agreement -- thats all it is.
• Entities retain the right to deviate from its use
  -- so a healthy balance-of-power to constrain
  power exists among stakeholders.
• Sticky power holds us all in

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Key interest

• Maintain decentralized architecture (for
  innovation and technical reinvention)
• Not render sacrosanct current DNS system or
  organization to manage it

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Thank you

• Kenneth Neil Cukier
• ltkn_at_cukier.comgt
• ltKennethCukier_at_Economist.comgt
• Paper online at
• www.cukier.com/writings/cukier-netgov-TPRC04.pdf