China to Get Keys to the Internet

The US Department of Commerce will be handing off the final parts of US control, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), over the Internet to international authorities on 1 Oct.

IANA is responsible for interpreting numerical addresses on the Web to a readable language. This will soon be under the control of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN). The ICANN is a multi-stakeholder based in LA & includes countries like China & Russia.

The move is heavily criticized as the move can be used by totalitarian governments to shut down the Web around the world, completely or in part. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says that the move will significantly increase the power of foreign nations over the internet & “embolden its leadership to act without any real accountability.”

ICANN’s Beijing office is located in the same building as the China’s notorious censor board, & it’s possible that the ICANN can be influenced by it.