U.N. creates Internet governance working group

Preparations are in full swing for the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) later next year to discuss contentious issues such as the management of the Internet at both technical and policy levels.

The United Nations (U.N.), which is hosting the follow-up event in Tunis, Tunisia in November 2005, has selected members of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), the organization said Thursday.

The group, which will be chaired by Nitin Desai, special advisor to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will include 40 members from governments, the private sector and civil society, a term collectively applied to nongovernmental organizations representing a wide variety of interests from human rights to free software. A list of the members is available at the WGIG Web site at: www.wgig.org.

The first of between four to five meetings is scheduled to take place in Geneva from Nov. 23, 2005 to Nov. 25, 2005. A preliminary report is planned for July.

Delegates at the initial WSIS in Geneva last December agreed to set up a working group to discuss management of the Internet at both technical and policy levels after failing to reach a consensus on this contentious issue.

Many countries, particularly the U.S., U.K. and members of the European Union (E.U.), support the private sector-led Internet management arrangement provided under the aegis of the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). But others, notably Brazil, China and numerous developing countries, see a need for some soft of inter-governmental framework, preferably under a U.N. umbrella.

WGIG has its work cut out, according to the group's executive coordinator Markus Kummer.

"We will have to discuss a wide range of contentious issues, beginning with a basic question like: What is the Internet?" Kummer said. "The answer isn't as easy as you would think because we need to determine whether we are talking about just a set of protocols or also about IP (Internet protocol) services, which can lead to a whole other dimension."

Developing countries, in particular, are concerned about the delegation of country-code top-level domain names being left to a privately-run organization, according to Kummer. "Many countries want a greater say in this process," he said. "They view the issue as one of national sovereignty -- almost akin to their national flag and anthem."