Russians protest against the existing internet governance structure
Russian officials have spoken out against the existing internet governance structure.statedRussian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev spoke at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union. Shchegolev believes that the International Telecommunication Union should govern the internet. Currently, the United States, specifically the US Department of Commerce, manages ICANN, the organization responsible for the structure of the domain space.
Igor Shchegolev stated that "Union member states identify a wide range of issues in this area—from ethical standards for using the Internet to protection against cyberattacks"—and will be able to perform internet governance functions. The Russian minister also emphasized that internet governance must be international, and that this important mission cannot be entrusted to a single country.
The International Telecommunication Union conference documents state: "Currently, Internet resource management, primarily addressing and the domain name system, is performed by ICANN, where governments can only advocate for their interests through the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), which has no decision-making power and can only express its wishes to ICANN's management." Therefore, it is necessary "to consider the feasibility of having a specially formed group within the ITU perform the GAC's functions, granting it veto power over decisions made by the ICANN Board of Directors. If a positive decision is made, instruct the ITU Secretary-General to consult with ICANN on this matter."
US officials stated their opposition to these ideas. "International intergovernmental control would do more harm than good to the Internet, and the ITU should not exceed its responsibility in the area of information security, but should instead focus on combating cybercrime," the Americans argued.
Moreover, some analysts believe that the internet is essentially self-governed and virtually impossible to shut down, especially considering that DNS root servers are located not only in the US but also in other countries, and they can be duplicated without the consent of the US Department of Commerce. ICANN is a non-governmental organization, which further guarantees internet freedom. Any other method of internet governance carries political and organizational risks.
