Hamadoun Toure, who assumed the role of U.N. director-general of the International Telecommunication Union in November, said the international body would be one agency among many that would offer input and advice in shaping the development of the Internet.
“It is not my intention to take over the governance of the Internet,” Toure said. “There is no one single issue that can be dealt with by one organization alone.”
In September, ICANN moved closer to independence when the U.S. Department of Commerce indicated that the agency would have greater autonomy in its new oversight agreement. The U.S. Department of Commerce renewed its agreement with the Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based agency for up to three more years.
Brazil, Iran and Cuba, as well as other developing nations, have criticized the idea of a U.S.-controlled Internet, calling ICANN a proxy for American policy online. But Toure said he would do his best to create a forum for international cooperation for Internet policy. He also rejected an idea put forth by some dissatisfied countries of creating a parallel online infrastructure that could lead to multiple, incompatible Internets.
“We have to avoid a cyberwar between governments,” Toure said.
To avoid a cyberwar, Toure said that regulation should be as light as possible and adapt to local conditions.
In the meantime, one source of tension persists with the resurrection of a .XXX sTLD registry nearly eight months after ICANN’s board ruled against ICM Registry’s plan to create an adult-specific TLD.
When .XXX was shelved eight months earlier, many ICANN critics in the international community charged that the U.S. had exerted undue influence over the agency.