The role of ICANN in Safeguarding the Global, United Internet

ICANN’s mission as a public interest organization is to preserve the security, stability, and resiliency of a single interoperable global Internet.

By Samiran Gupta

Every time you go online, regardless of what device you are using, what type of network you are connected to, or where you are in the world, you touch something that originates from ICANN. This is because, globally, the distribution of IP addresses and domain names originates with ICANN. ICANN is also responsible for the maintenance of identifiers related to many other protocols that enable the functioning of the Internet.

Today, nearly 5 billion people, more than half the world’s population, use the Internet. Whenever they do, they are connected to the Internet’s technical infrastructure – managed and taken off in some way or the other by ICANN, which provides key pillars of that infrastructure.

ICANN is part of an Internet ecosystem that works together for the global public interest. ICANN works closely with other technical partners in the ecosystem to help enforce and evolve the rules, developed some 40 years ago, that ensure we have one single secure, stable, interoperable Internet.

As we look to future-proof the Internet, we need to remember an important lesson from the past: The biggest factor in enabling the growth and success of what we today call the global Internet was the ability to reach consensus decisions on key standards. Without the deliberate and joint decision to use a common domain namespace, a common IP addressing system, and adherence to the same protocol specifications, the success story of the global Internet could not have been written.

This is because the technical aspects of the Internet are governed through the ICANN multistakeholder model (MSM); one of the most inclusive and democratic forms of decision-making. Through this model, individuals, non-commercial stakeholder groups, industry, and governments play important roles in consensus-driven, policymaking.

Said differently: Technical Internet governance is focused on the way the Internet works; the purely technical aspect of Internet governance, relating to the components that contribute to a single interoperable secure, stable, and resilient Internet.

Increasingly, there are discussions among governments, businesses, and civil society that want to tackle the latest challenges in connecting more people to the Internet by creating new venues and new rules.

To be clear, cybersecurity, protection of personal data, data localization, Internet access, and public safety are critical issues that must be addressed. But doing so requires a clear understanding of the technical underpinnings of the Internet. If that is missing, changes can negatively affect how the Internet operates and potentially result in accessibility problems for all Internet users.

The Internet is a critical resource, and it will continue to be. This was never truer than during the COVID pandemic. Without a single, interoperable, and secure Internet, millions of people would have been out of work, students would have missed a year or more of their education, and the global economy might have collapsed.

The Internet is now a global infrastructure. It is too important for any one, or a few, actors to determine how to deal with issues like governance, policy, regulations, technical standards, or the business.

Thus, a multistakeholder-driven approach helps ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and that changes to the technical governance of the Internet are made by consensus and with the full participation of all stakeholders.

ICANN supports all efforts to strengthen the multistakeholder model of Internet governance because only when governments, citizens, businesses, academia, and others work together can an equitable Internet for the next billion users be built.

Samiran Gupta is Head of Stakeholder Engagement for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) South Asia

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