Google Executive, Intel CEO Back Internet Assigned Numbers Authority Transition

Technology CEO Council Chairman Mark Durcan urged House and Senate leaders Monday “not to block” the planned Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition on Saturday. Senate Republicans last week introduced language for a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government after FY 2016 expires this Friday that didn’t include proposed language that would delay the transition past Oct. 1. Some remain unsure Congress has fully abandoned efforts to postpone the handover (see 1609220067). Two conservative groups continued urging Congress Monday to seek the delay (see 1609260059). Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, a TCC member, and Google General Counsel Kent Walker are also backing the handover. The transition “is good policy, both for the United States and for the global Internet community,” Durcan wrote. “Placing stewardship of these technical but important functions beyond the control of any one government or group of governments will best secure the principles of Internet freedom and de-politicization of technology. America truly leads by example, walking its talk in support of apolitical Internet governance.” Krzanich backed the transition Saturday in a blog post. "This final stage of Internet privatization will help ensure that future American innovations benefit from a global, stable and interoperable Internet infrastructure,” Krzanich said. “American business relies on these principles and the growth they have provided.” Krzanich said previous steps in privatizing the internet “brought about exponential growth of the Internet -- growth that propelled Moore’s Law and breakthrough innovations in computing power. Because of these phenomena, American industry has led the world in technological transformation and innovation.” Google believes that post-transition, “you won’t notice anything different when you go online, but we are transitioning the IANA functions into good hands,” Walker said in a Monday blog post. “Although this is a change in how one technical function of the Internet is governed, it will give innovators and users a greater role in managing the global Internet. And that’s a very good thing.” Thinking “only governments should have a say in the Internet’s future is a dangerous proposition,” Walker said. “It incentivizes those who fear the Internet’s transformative power to impose burdensome restrictions online, and over time could even lead some repressive governments to try to build their own closed networks operating independently of ICANN, at the expense of a thriving Internet ecosystem.”