BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union's objections to a US proposal for reforming the Internet address system have helped remind Washington that it does not own the global network, the president of the Internet Society said.
"They are a great counterbalance to the weight of the US government," said Donald Heath, whose international group, based in Reston, Virginia, helps draw up Internet policy.
Heath said in an interview that he was sure the EU's comments would influence the Commerce Department to change its plan for phasing out the US government's management of the address system.
The EU criticized the proposal earlier this month, saying it did not take an "international approach" and could give the United States too much jurisdiction over questions such as trademark disputes. It also complained that the plan did not mention a competing proposal on addresses that was adopted last year by a global coalition.
The Internet Society was a key player in that coalition.
Washington is saying, "'We want out.' That's good," Heath said. "The problem is then they started defining the terms, thinking they own it. They quickly learned because of comments from the [EU] and around the world."
Heath, who was in Brussels to address a conference on the "information society," said the Commerce Department erred by not following the method that has been used to govern the Internet since its inception -- building a consensus.
The dispute focuses mainly on who should register and administer top-level domains such as .com, .org, and .net. Those domains are now registered by Network Solutions, a US company under a government contract that expires in September.
The global coalition adopted a plan last year to set up a Council of Registrars in Geneva and break Network Solutions' monopoly by adding seven new top-level domains -- for example, .shop, .firm, and .arts.
The Council of Registrars, which would manage the databases, has already signed up 88 registrars in 23 countries who have begun accepting applications for Internet addresses.
The US plan would add five new domains, each with a new registry to manage the database, while companies would compete to register new addresses.
Heath said the US initiative stopped the Council of Registrars in its tracks, giving backers no alternative but to wait until Washington had finalized its position. "We decided that we're right, but we don't want to look like mavericks," he said.
The Internet Society backs much of the Commerce Department's proposal, Heath said. However, it is unhappy that the plan would allow bodies maintaining Internet address databases, including Network Solutions, to operate for profit rather than "in the public interest."
He also criticized the plan for ignoring a system set up by the World Intellectual Property Organization for resolving disputes over Internet address trademarks.
Heath noted that the Council of Registrars had also received its share of criticism and had evolved to take account of it, such as agreeing to open up the system to more registrars.
Barbara Wellbery, special counsel for electronic commerce in the Commerce Department, told reporters on Thursday that the department was revising its proposal and would take account of the EU's and others' comments.
