] A battle is brewing over the role of governments in
] managing the Internet, as policymakers prepare for a
] United Nations-backed summit on the network's future.
]
] Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi of the Internet Corporation for
] Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) said two camps are
] forming over the wording of a key article to be adopted
] at the World Summit on the Information Society in
] December.
]
] "Some governments are arguing that the management of
] things like (Internet protocol) addressing, global
] domain names (and) privacy should be done by an
] intergovernmental organization because they feel the
] Internet is a public resource, and they have
] responsibility over public resources,'' said Mohamed
] Sharil, who is chairman of the government advisory
] committee for ICANN, the body that governs Internet
] domain names.
]
] "Then there are some governments who feel that the
] Internet should be managed by an international body," he
] added. "International by definition means everyone is
] involved, from governments to private sector and civil
] society. Whereas intergovernmental gives an indication
] that only governments are involved and not necessarily
] the people.''