Complaining that the United States has an unfair influence over the Internet, the EU, U.N. and countries such as Brazil and Denmark have made dogged pleas for a more international input, going so far as to suggest that the U.N.’s Working Group on Internet Governance should be given ultimate authority.
EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said an international model was important "because the Internet is a global resource."
The EU even went so far as to announce a "new cooperative model" for Internet governance that would effectively end the U.S.-controlled Internet infrastructure.
Under the plan, a new international body would oversee public policy matters as well as create procedures for changing the internet's "root zone file," manage country domains such as .uk or .de, create a new arbitration service for the Internet and produce rules to cover the domain name system.
But Gross made clear that the United States isn’t willing to surrender any ground.
"We will not agree to the U.N. taking over the management of the Internet," Gross said. "Some countries want that. We think that's unacceptable."
The issue came to a head this week at a preparatory meeting leading up to November’s U.N. World Summit on the Information Society. Representatives from several countries and international bodies voiced concerns that the United States should not have so much power over a vital part of the world economy.
At issue is who would have ultimate authority over the Internet's master directories, which tell Web browsers and e-mail programs how to direct traffic.
Many delegates have complained that California-based ICANN, under authority of the U.S. Commerce Department, unfairly dominates the website addressing system through its control of the Internet’s root servers. They want to take that power away from ICANN and, ultimately, the United States.
Many countries also have voiced concerns that U.S. views on issues such as Internet content run counter to their own. China, for example, would like more say in what is allowed online, and Muslim countries strictly forbid adult content of any kind. Many Asian countries including China routinely shut down websites they deem obscene. In the grand, global scheme, the United States is less restrictive than the majority of the world.
There also was a major international outcry earlier this year when ICANN announced it had greenlighted plans for a proposed .XXX top-level domain.
“You have made this and many decisions without consulting countries that will be affected by it,” a Danish official said of the decision, which has since been held up to allow more discussion on the issue.
But Gross was unequivocal in his stance on the “historical role” of the United States on such matters.
"We've been very, very clear throughout the process that there are certain things we can agree to and certain things we can't agree to," Gross said. "It's not a negotiating issue. This is a matter of national policy."
