The U.S. Department of Commerce will hold a Wednesday hearing on the government’s September deadline to give up control over Internet domain names, a schedule that some high-tech industry advocates say should be delayed.
The U.S. government controls the naming system for “.com” and all web addresses through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based not-for-profit company that decides what names can and cannot be registered.
Some foreign governments and critics have been concerned that the U.S. government has too much control over what has become a global commerce, communications and social engine. The transition is currently slated to take place by Sept. 30, but the U.S. Department of Commerce has the option to extend its control.
The European Commission was highly critical of what it called “political interference” by U.S. officials last May in rejecting a proposed .xxx Internet domain for pornography Web sites–a system supporters said would help confine and filter such sites.
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