IGP's Milton Mueller and Jeanette Hofmann have been invited to attend a European Commission Hearing on Internet Governance Arrangements to be held in Brussels on May 6. The agenda focuses attention on the international dimension of "security and stability" as governments continue to use the "critical infrastructure" rubric to position themselves for a stronger role. For example, it asks whether "self-regulation for critical infrastructures and services [should] be more closely monitored by governments and relevant public authorities?"   more »

The NTIA has published a Notice of Inquiry, Assessment of the Transition of the Technical Coordination and Management of the Internet's Domain Name and Addressing System, in advance of the expiration of the Joint Project Agreement in September 2009. The document outlines the history and evolution of the MOU between the DoC and ICANN, and the questions posed cover fairly standard territory. However, one caught our attention.   more »

Discussions within ICANN are underway about what to do with the .SU top level domain. The .SU TLD was a country code when the Soviet Union existed. Obviously, that political entity no longer exists. There is now a debate about whether to close down the TLD or not. In the meantime, the people who run it (in some place called "Russia," which already has its own TLD, .ru) are registering new domains like mad. ICANN is in a conundrum.   more »

IGP's Milton Mueller will be a panelist at a Congressional Seminar, "ICANN & Internet Governance: How Did We Get Here & Where Are We Heading?," hosted by the Progress & Freedom Foundation on April 24, 2009 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC. You can register here.

As the Internet has become the backbone of our Digital Age economy, the issue of "governance" has taken on a new importance. What's next for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit corporation responsible for coordinating administration of the domain name system? New developments and possible policy implications will be discussed by a panel of recognized experts, who will cover the history and evolution of ICANN and debate such topics as the proposal for new top level domains, domain name system security, and ICANN's future after the expiration of its Joint Project Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding with the Commerce Department.

Other panelists include David Johnson (Visiting Professor of Law, Institute for Information Law and Policy), New York Law School and Mike Roberts (Internet Technology Policy Consultant and former President and CEO of ICANN), as well as panel moderator Michael Palage (Adjunct Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation and former ICANN board member).

Mad props to IGP's Milton Mueller, who has been selected to receive the 2009 International Telecommunications Education and Research Association (ITERA) Outstanding Research Award. ITERA presents the award to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in academic research related to the telecommunications disciplines through publication, peer-review, and international recognition over time. And also a tip o' the hat to Milton's colleague, Martha Garcia-Murillo, director of the M.S. in Telecommunications and Network Management program at Syracuse's iSchool, who cited the founding of the Internet Governance Project, where "researchers can follow the discussion and decisions that are made at the international level on Internet governance," among the many reasons Milton deserved this special award. Way to go!

[Editors Note: This is the fourth installment in our series looking at the ongoing ICANN reforms. If you haven't already, be sure to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3]

Public comments are in on the charter proposals that will shape the reformed GNSO. The politics of GNSO reform are now abundantly clear. Noncommercial organizations and individuals from a surprisingly broad swath of transnational civil society have participated in ICANN's GNSO reform proceeding, sending in comments. And virtually all of them are supporting the Noncommercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG) charter proposed by the NCUC.   more »