Yahoo: U.S. to Retain Oversight of Web Traffic
Posted: 2005-07-02 02:32pm
Full story here.By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer
Fri Jul 1,10:26 PM ET
FRANKFURT, Germany - A unilateral decision by the United States to indefinitely retain oversight of the Internet's main traffic-directing computers prompted concerns Friday that the global telecommunications network could eventually splinter.
"This seems like an extension of American security in the aftermath of 9-11," said John Strand, a Denmark-based technology consultant. "People will ask: `Do the Americans want to control the Internet?'"
Washington's decision, announced Thursday, departs from previously stated U.S. policy.
Many countries favor gradually releasing oversight of the Internet's so-called "root servers" to an international body, and a showdown on the issue could come in November at a U.N. information society summit to be held in Tunisia. A U.N. report this month on Internet governance is expected to address the issue.