Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, delivered an opening statement at the hearing on “Should the Department of Commerce Relinquish Direct Oversight Over ICANN?”

The following is the full text of Congressman Nadler’s opening statement (as prepared for delivery):

"Thank you, Chairman Coble.   Last month, the Department of Commerce announced that it will begin a process for transitioning key internet domain name functions to the global multistakeholder community.  This announcement continues a privatization process that started in 1998, was continued through the Bush Administration, and has been supported by various Congresses. 

“Despite this, some of my Republican colleagues have now accused the Obama Administration of surrendering control of the Internet to foreigners. This type of alarmist assertion misunderstands a core fact:  there is not now, nor will there ever be, one party – whether government or private sector – that controls the Internet.   The Internet is, and will remain, a decentralized network of networks that runs smoothly only through the voluntary cooperation and coordination of its participants.   Ensuring effective private-sector management of these networks, and transitioning functions served by the United States government, has been a goal shared by Republicans and Democrats alike for the past sixteen years.  And, frankly, I am surprised that some of my Republican colleagues now seem to oppose the next step in the privatization process.  It can’t be that Republicans support private industry and oppose government control in everything except this, so why the outrage now? 

“I am hopeful that, behind some of the overheated rhetoric surrounding NTIA’s announcement, there is a sincere desire to take a clear look at the facts.  There is, of course, a need to ensure that the transition process, and the model developed through that process, produces a management structure that supports a secure, open, and truly global Internet.  NTIA has established criteria to help ensure that this occurs, and I am confident that NTIA and ICANN will agree to update us periodically as this process progresses.  We need not pass legislation that further complicates this process.   And there is no reason to make this a partisan battle now. 

“Today’s Internet has its origins in a network developed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal agencies to connect universities and research labs conducting projects for the government.  Since then, the Internet has become a remarkable platform for commerce, social discourse and innovation across the globe.

“Since the late 1990s – across Democratic and Republican administrations and with the full support of various Congresses – our government has embraced the principle that core Internet domain name system functions should be managed by the private sector, not by this or any other government.  Private sector interests formed ICANN in the late 1990s for this purpose, and NTIA has been working with ICANN since that time to transition technical DNS coordination and management functions to the private sector.     

“NTIA’s recent announcement that it would begin the process for transitioning its oversight of the technical functions necessary to assign numbers and register domain names -- known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority or IANA (I-Anna) – to ICANN and the multistakeholder model that has been developed for Internet technical coordination represents the final step in a sixteen-year transition process.  The IANA functions include management of the DNS “root zone” top-level domain names and coordination of the allocation of IP addresses.  For the last two decades, the IANA functions have been performed under successive contracts between the Department of Commerce and ICANN.  During that time, the U.S. Government has simultaneously exercised oversight over ICANN through the IANA contract, while remaining steadfast in its commitment to turn over DNS management to the multistakeholder private-sector model. 

“Congress has long supported this commitment, often doing so in response to other governments around the world urging inter-governmental control of the Internet through, for example, proposals for control by the United Nation’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU).   Just last Congress, we responded to this possibility by passing a bipartisan, bicameral resolution providing that “it is the policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.”  H.Con.Res. 127 passed the House by a unanimous 413-0 vote.

“This latest announcement by NTIA follows in that tradition, and was warmly welcomed by American corporations such as AT&T, Cisco, Google, Miscrosoft, Neustar and Verizon as well as the Chamber of Commerce, the Internet technical community, and our global allies.   

“By inviting the multistakeholder community to present proposals for administration of IANA functions that have broad support and that preserve the security, stability, resiliency and openness of the Internet, NTIA has reinforced our longstanding dedication to transitioning to private-sector management in a responsible and successful manner. 

“Exactly how we accomplish this is yet to be determined through the process initiated by NTIA’s announcement.  But the time to initiate the process for that transition has come.  Congress, together with the world community, should now focus on developing plans that ensure transparency, accountability, and robust safeguards to enable the continued efficient operation of the Internet.

“I want to thank each of the witnesses for their testimony, and yield back the balance of my time.”

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