Resistance to the ICANN Model of Internet Governance

Abstract

How does the world community treat the Internet governance model practiced by ICANN? The global south does not like this model, and chose the WSIS as a venue to register its voice against it. It identified the deficiency of the framework and proposed to expand its rubric by incorporating measures related to the digital divide, multilingualism, Internet security, and intellectual property right. It questioned the legitimacy of unilateral US control of the Internet root, and demanded equal participation in making decisions related to the management of the root. This issue engulfed both phases of the summit—the Geneva phase and the Tunis phase. This chapter discusses the conflict over the ICANN-led Internet governance framework at the WSIS and explains the causes of this conflict. It begins by discussing how Internet governance became a controversial issue, reviews the proposals for a new framework, and explains the outcome of the conflict. This chapter reviews the proposals made by the representatives of the global south in comparison to those of the other stakeholders. It explains the Internet governance conflict in comparison to the NWICO movement to understand the changes and continuities in terms of participation of actors and ideologies.