TEMPE, Ariz. — Former President Bill Clinton presided over a star-studded panel Friday evening, voicing his preference that the United States maintain control of the Internet’s domain name system, which will soon be ceded to an international body.

Clinton appeared on stage for a Clinton Global Initiative event with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, among others, to discuss how social change could come about through online engagement.