Preserve the US government’s functioning online

It has become impossible to overstate the importance of the Internet to our way of life.  Our economy now depends upon the Internet.  So does much of our critical infrastructure, and the provision of vital services.  We take for granted that the Internet simply works.  Of course, our personal connection may go down for a few minutes from time to time, or one website may go dark; but, we expect the Internet itself always to be there.  And, for the last couple of decades, it always has been. That might change one day soon, and the consequences could be profound.

The US government currently oversees the technical functioning of the domain name system at the core of the Internet. But, the Obama administration last year proposed to give up that oversight role to an American nonprofit corporation called ICANN.  This transition may happen as early as September of this year.

Since its formation in 1998, ICANN has been responsible for setting policy regarding the Domain Name System – but, it has not been responsible for overseeing or performing the actual technical work (called “Root Zone Maintenance,” or RZM).  ICANN now wants to have that technical responsibility, in addition to managing the policy.  ICANN wants this responsibility, authority and control without US government oversight.  But, there is no good reason for the US to relinquish that control.  The RZM function should continue to be conducted by an organization that is technically competent and that has a track record of successful operations, commensurate with the importance of the task.  This is what is necessary for the Internet to remain secure, stable, and reliable.  Lastly, and so important to the debate, this is what US oversight has accomplished over the years.

In addition, uniquely among the world’s nations, the United States relies on two special top-level domains (TLDs) to operate and segment its government and military functions on the Internet: .gov and .mil.  Separating these domains allows dedicated management by the federal government for our country’s online presence, which is critical to the functioning of our federal, state, and local governments, and for our military.  Any Internet transition must guarantee that these two domains remain under the full control of the United States.

The .gov and .mil domains were among the first five TLDs created in 1985, predating ICANN by more than a decade.  They are sponsored by the US government, but without an agreement with ICANN.  Therefore, it is possible that if ICANN takes over full control of the domain name system, it could reassign .gov and .mil – or open them up to other countries — even over the objection of the US government.

Given how crucial these domains are to the basic functions of governments at every level across the US, and to our national security, any transition of Internet stewardship away from the US must guarantee that the US will be able to perpetually, exclusively, at no cost, continue to operate the .gov and .mil TLDs.

Recently, two House committees held hearings on the issue of the transition to ICANN. By their comments, it seems that members of Congress have finally awakened to the looming national security crisis that could be presented if we fail to protect these domains from management by some unaccountable third party, perhaps located outside of the U.S. 

The Internet transition issue has received much less attention than “net neutrality,” but these key elements must be resolved in a way that secures our economic and national security interests.  Congress must ensure that the root zone maintainer function will be performed responsibly and that .gov and .mil  remain available for exclusive U.S. government use.  American citizens are little aware of the possible tragedy at play here.  Congress must act responsibly and keep the US in control.

Swindle was a Federal Trade Commissioner from 1997 to 2005 and served as an assistant secretary of Commerce under President Reagan.