Previous to the new agreement there was a memorandum of understanding between the Commerce Department and ICANN that was prescriptive. The original memorandum was set to expire today.
"The [Commerce Department] has clearly signaled that multi-stakeholder management of the Internet's system of unique identifiers is the way ahead and ICANN is the obvious organization to take that responsibility," ICANN CEO Paul Twomey said in a statement. "The top line is that this is a major step forward for ICANN to become completely autonomous.”
Under the new agreement, ICANN will not have to report to U.S. officials every six months. Instead the Commerce Department will meet with senior ICANN staff from time to time.
ICANN also will be free to decide how to keep technical tabs on the Internet.
In addition, it calls for a midterm review in 18 months, the soonest point at which ICANN could become free of U.S. government oversight.
Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based ICANN was created in 1998 to handle the web’s addressing issues, including the key directories that help Internet browsers and email programs find other computers on the Internet.
But when U.S. regulators last renewed the agreement in 2003, it suggested ICANN would be ready for self-sufficiency by Sept. 30, 2006. That agreement contained about 25 specific organizational milestones ICANN had to achieve, but there are no such requirements in the new deal.
"This is not an example of the U.S. government telling ICANN what to do," Twomey said. "Those days are over."
Earlier this year, ICANN voted to kill the proposed top-level domain .XXX in the face of webmaster criticism and domestic and international opposition. That initiative, launched by ICM Registry, would have cordoned off a section of the Internet for adult entertainment.
Despite ICANN’s decision to shelve the issue, Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said earlier this month that he would continue his efforts to get a bill, known as the Cyber Safety for Kids Act, passed. That bill’s language directs the Commerce Department to develop the .XXX designation in cooperation with ICANN.
Friday’s new agreement would effectively dilute the Commerce Department’s influence over the matter.
ICM Registry President Stuart Lawley told XBIZ via email that while he hasn’t studied the new agreement in detail, his company has “nothing to report on .XXX at this stage.”