Gore Backs ICANN On Eve Of Hearing
On the eve of a congressional hearing to examine the future of the government's relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the California-based entity that administers the Web addressing system is getting some celebrity support. Former Vice President Al Gore has joined with Vint Cerf, known to many as one of the fathers of the Internet, in acknowledging the success of the group's multi-stakeholder, bottom up governance. Gore led an interagency panel 12 years ago that was charged with coordinating the U.S. government's electronic commerce strategy, which led to the creation of ICANN.
"What we have all those years later is an organization that works," Gore said. "[ICANN] has security as its core mission, is responsive to all global stakeholders and is independent and democratic. We should make permanent those foundations for success," he said. Cerf, who long-served as ICANN's chairman and is now Google's chief Internet evangelist, argued the past decade has shown the ICANN model has worked. "The ICANN of today is larger, more capable, more international, and better positioned to fulfill its mandate." ICANN has benefited from a joint project agreement with the U.S. government, which is slated to expire in September, but "the time has now come to conclude it," Cerf said.
Cerf's comments are contained in written testimony, which ICANN will ask the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee to accept for the record on Thursday. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., has been be urged by Internet industry stakeholders to hold the hearing amid continued concerns about ICANN's accountability and transparency. Invited witnesses include: National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Fiona Alexander; ICANN President Paul Twomey; Verisign Senior Vice President Kenneth Silva; GoDaddy General Counsel Christine Jones; Verizon Vice President Sarah Deutsch; and Thomas Lenard, president of the Technology Policy Institute.
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