As the title of this post suggests, I am not totally sure about the contents of this post. In fact, a big part of why I'm writing this is in hopes that someone will put the smackdown on me and set my stupid ass straight.
The question I seek to answer is who controls the Internet?
Naturally I started my journey by reading the book Who Controls the Internet? I highly recommend this book, even though I disagree with many of the books arguments, as well as its central thesis that the Internet does not disrupt the nation-state as a form of governance, and that folks who believe that it will are overly idealistic and unrealistic. I'll put the smackdown on that book in a future blog entry. But in spite of the failings I perceive in the book, it does a great job of explaining some Internet history -- and the past is the best place to look to understand the future.
So here's my understanding (which as noted may be incorrect, so take it with a grain of salt):
1. There is an organization known as IANA, which runs in parallel with ICANN, that is the naming authority of the web. These organizations are ultimately responsible for the naming system of the web; meaning htey decide that there will be a .com domain name extension, a .net, what new ones will come, etc. Ultimately, this organization is responsible for ensuring that when you type in Wikipedia.org, you get sent to Wikipedia -- and that this applies from any device you use to connect to the Internet.
2. There are what as known as root nameservers. This is where I start to get a little confused, because all these technical people that write about this stuff are such poor communicators that they cannot explain this stuff in simple terms. Anyway, my understanding, which I emphasize may be incorrect, is that there are 13 root nameservers that are ultimately responsible for allocating addresses and domain names. I think if anyone wants to break the Internet, they would want to attack these nameservers. Moreover, I think if there is disagreement amongst these nameservers, they could fracture the Internet into multiple Internets. In other words, if they all break away from the rules prescribed by IANA and ICANN, then you might get a different web page when you enter Wikipedia.org into your computer, as each nameserver could be its own naming authority, so where you would get routed would depend on which nameserver are you connected to. I am not 100% sure on this.
3. Here you can see who are the operators of those 13 nameservers. The Internet is a creation of the US Department of Defense, and so it is not surprising to see some military operators of some of the nameservers. It could, however, be problematic. Even those nameservers that are not directly operated by the US government are operated by US institutions -- and thus subject to US law. Of relevance here is the story of Jon Postel, widely regarded as "the father of the Internet," who basically was the naming authority before IANA/ICANN was born. Postel clashed with the US government over who should be controlling the Internet, and at times decided to flex his authority by having the operators of regional nameservers, whom he knew and were personally loyal to Postel, change how they functioned. Upon doing this he was threatened by the US government and told if he did it again he would be arrested. So, based on this, it seems as though the United States government, particularly the Department of Defense, is in control of the Internet -- both in that it controls several of the root nameservers, as well as the legal authority to prosecute others.
Generally, all this stuff happens behind the scenes and no one cares. But the way to break the Internet is to break this system.
It would be nice if this system was more democratic in a way -- if I could somehow vote to influence ICANN and IANA. And while the US Department of Defense did pay for the Internet, I think IANA/ICANN should be global institutions. The case for this will become a lot stronger when it becomes apparent that the US borrowed money from international lenders, used this money to launch an imperial agenda, and now can't pay it back. LOL
I am eager to learn more about this issue because I think it's important to understand for anyone interested in executing The Business Plan That Saves the World. If anyone can help me understand this more, please feel free to share your thoughts.
Kid Mercury's Blog: Delivering the Truth That Sets You Free
