US prepares to hand over power of the inteet's naming system - CNET

The US govement's 20-year role in goveing a crucial part of the inteet is about to come to an end.

From October 1, the US will no longer have power over the inteet domain naming system, or DNS, the US Department of Commerce announced on Tuesday.

The DNS is one of the core components of the inteet, linking every web address to the sites' servers using a unique set of numbers, commonly referred to as an IP address. Control of the system will be passed from the US govement to a multi-stakeholder nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles called the Inteet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

For the world's inteet users, the hand-off will go largely unnoticed -- day-to-day use of the inteet will not be affected. Instead, it has been designed to ensure the DNS continues to be a strong and reliable pillar of the inteet for years to come. Proponents of the move, including the Obama administration, believe privatization will help maintain inteational support for the system and prevent goveance of the inteet becoming a point of dispute in the future.

But some US politicians, including former Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, are critical of the decision to transfer control of the DNS away from the US govement. In a speech at the Republican National Convention last month, Cruz said he feared the system will now be open to interference from foreign govements after being safely guarded for years by the US.