Yesterday, ACT | The App Association and a group of its members from across the country sent a letter to leaders in Congress in support of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Stewardship Transition between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The small company innovators stated in the letter:

We believe that the transition will significantly improve accountability, as well as long term sustainability, by making ICANN responsible to technologists, businesses, civil society, and all users who depend on the internet for economic growth and social innovation.

The transition also ensures that the internet
 remains an open platform, uncontrolled by any single entity. Those who are against the transition argue that the government can better protect the public interest than the multi-stakeholder model can. But if the U.S. government insists on maintaining its role, other governments will insist on having a role as well, unraveling the multi-stakeholder model and fragmenting the internet. Governments will manage their own national or regional DNS. This is a high cost for holding on to the U.S. government’s purely administrative role. It won’t safeguard freedom of expression on the internet because neither the DNS nor the U.S. government’s limited role provide any authority over content on the internet.

Innovators have lined up to support the transition because we understand the unique role that the internet plays in our own success, and also how it powers global trade and commerce. If members of Congress are able to block or delay the transition, we fear U.S. businesses will shoulder lasting negative effects on their business operations, unnecessarily impacting global trade and investment which depends on a unified, global internet.

The group urged their elected officials to ensure that Congress’ continuing resolution does not contain any language that would delay or block the IANA transition.

Tomorrow, ACT | The App Association President Jonathan Zuck will represent the interests of small companies at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts hearing on the topic.

 

Image: Ben Goodnight / license / cropped