Interaction Between National Governments and ICANN While Administering the Internet

Purpose – to review and analyze problematic issues related with the ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) role in the Internet administration and the interaction between national governing institutions.<br />Design/methodology/approach – based on the comparison and systematic analysis of scientific literature, the authors discuss problematic issues related with the Internet governance model, where the ICANN takes the biggest part in the Internet administration. Its current legal status is causing controversies among different stakeholders, so the analytical approach towards the issue may help to facilitate the reach of the compromise in this area.<br />Findings – the authors accentuate problematic phenomena, which are related with the Internet government structure. The current international legal state of the ICANN is highlighted in the article as well as the factors which influence the ICANNs struggle for independence.<br />Research limitations/implications – the international legal status of the ICANN is a hard topic, where many interests from different parties collide. Because of that, it is impossible to convey the objective and impartial analysis of the problem. Different attitudes, political interest and even political views may influence the understanding of the issue. That is why the authors present their subjective opinion and suggest one of the possible Internet governance narratives as a basis for further discussion.<br />Practical implications – the authors accentuate main sources of international friction between other state governing institutions and the ICANN. If the Internet administration structure will is left at the same status, there may be more upcoming hazards. The insights and recommendations in this article may be used as a basis for further problem analysis.<br />Value – the article emphasizes current Internet governance problems and the role of the ICANN, while trying to moderate the interests of different parties. The expansion of the Internet allows implementing new service and business models. As a political tool, it is also attracting attention from different groups of interests and oversteps the boundaries of widely accepted values, such as freedom of speech, accessibility of information or economic interests. This question has a clear geopolitical context, for that reason, decision related with the future of the ICANN and the Internet governance should be solved responsibly. The authors give their insights about the topic by determining the main presumptions for the transformation of the ICANN’s legal status and by analyzing positive and negative sides of such hypothetical outcome.<br />Research type: general review, viewpoint