ICANN

"ICANN may be trying to become the Net's 'word police,' believes the Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC).

ICANN's policy council, the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), wants string selection criteria that would prevent the registration of a new gTLD string containing a controversial word or idea, says Blogger News Network.

With that in the background, ICANN's NCUC says it's submitted a proposal to protect freedom of expression and innovation in the introduction of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs)."

"The February 13 proposal would essentially make ICANN the arbiter of public policy and morality in the new gTLD space, "a frightening prospect for anyone who cares about democracy and free expression," says Robin Gross, executive director of IP Justice, an NCUC member organization.

" The Commerce Department agreed Friday to loosen its control over the agency that manages the Internet address system, a move that experts called a big step toward private-sector control.

In addition to providing for more autonomy, the accord calls for a midterm review in 18 months, the earliest point at which ICANN could become unleashed from government oversight. "The top line is that this is a major step forward for ICANN to become completely autonomous," said Paul Twomey, the Australian who is chief executive of ICANN. "

However a commentator on CNET says: "I greatly doubt that this will improve things. ICANN is a tremendous