Give it away now? Renewal of the IANA functions contract and its role in internet governance

Abstract

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has acquired many of the tools it uses to govern the Domain Name System (DNS) by contract or other agreements with the United States Government (USG). One of the most important agreements ICANN has for managing the DNS is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract. This agreement puts ICANN in charge of technical functions and management of major aspects of the DNS, including the DNS Root Zone coordination and allocation of global IP and AS number spaces. The following article considers the recent renewal of the IANA functions contract and evaluates the implications that renewal rounds may have for ICANN in the future. The article further analyses a possible transfer of the IANA functions from the USG to ICANN. Additionally, the article considers the legal path for a transition of the current agreement from a procurement contract to a cooperative agreement pursuant to US administrative law. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.