March 26, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- In a speech at the United Nations, where an international group of delegates have met to discuss the UN's involvement in Internet governance, UN secretary general Kofi Annan criticized the way Internet standards are set and the domain name system is handled. Annan noted that the current process is dominated by organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. This current situation, Annan said, must be rectified in order to ensure that the system is accessible and responsive to all countries. Several delegations made presentations expressing similar views.
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Analysts believe the prospect of greater UN involvement in Internet governance poses a threat to ICANN, an organization established six years ago to oversee the domain name system.
Vint Cerf, chair of ICANN, said at the summit that attention should be focused on building upon the foundation already in place.
Delegations at the forum also expressed their concern with US dominance over the Internet's domain name and allocation system. Two US-based organizations, ICANN and VeriSign, control the master .com and .net databases.
The Global Forum on Internet Governance is taking place in New York from March 25-27.
