Bush administration to keep control of internet's central computers

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Bush administration to keep control of internet's central computers

Gary Younge in New York and agencies

Saturday July 02 2005

The Guardian

 

 

The Bush administration has decided to retain control over the

principal computers which control internet traffic in a move likely to

prompt global opposition, it was claimed yesterday.

 

The US had pledged to turn control of the 13 computers known as root

servers - which inform web browsers and email programs how to direct

internet traffic - over to a private, international body.

 

But on Thursday the US reversed its position, announcing that it will

maintain control of the computers because of growing security threats

and the increased reliance on the internet for global communications.

A Japanese government official yesterday criticised the move, claiming

it will lend momentum to the debate about who controls the information

flow online.

 

" When the internet is being increasingly utilised for private use, by

business and so forth, there is a societal debate about whether it's

befitting to have one country maintaining checks on that ... It's

likely to fuel that debate, " said Masahiko Fujimoto, of the ministry

of internal affairs and communications' data communications division.

 

The computers serve as master directories that contain

government-approved lists of the roughly 260 suffices used, such as

..com or .co.uk. Anyone who uses the web interacts with them every day.

But a policy decision by the US could, at a stroke, make all sites

ending in a certain suffix unreachable.

 

Despite many doomsday scenarios, the most recent US decision will have

little if any immediate effect on internet users, and given the

internet's anarchic nature it may simply represent a desire to assert

state control even when it is not possible to do so.

 

Claudia Bernett, 32, a digital design analyst in New York, said:

" Scary as it seems, because of the nature of the internet, I think

they'll be hardpressed to create a coherent system that is capable of

the kind of monitoring they hope for ... Eventually, the people

participating in the system will find the technological means to evade

the watchful eye. "

 

Experts say that in the worst-case scenario, countries that refused to

accept US control of the main computers could establish their own

separate domain name system, with addresses in some places that others

would not be able to reach, making the world wide web give way to

discrete, regional web domains.

 

Mr Fujimoto said that is also unlikely because of its complexity, but

the US decision will raise serious concerns that will not be assuaged

easily. The announcement comes just weeks before a UN panel is set to

release a report on internet governance. Some nations want

international oversight of the issue but historically the US has

maintained the role because it was such a key player in the early

years of the internet's development.

 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited