The Government Accountability Office said Tuesday it believed the Obama administration’s proposed giveaway of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority could safely move forward without congressional approval, and said the United States essentially gave up ownership of the Internet years ago.
Members of Congress had asked the GAO to assess whether IANA constituted property of the federal government, which would require congressional approval to transfer under Article IV of the Constitution.
But GAO said the issue boiled down to a few components, including where physical files are stored and the root zone file governing Internet addresses around the globe, and stressed that the issue was nebulous because the government began giving away components of the Web long ago.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2592875
“We did not identify any government-held copyrights, patents, licenses, or other traditional intellectual property interests in either the root zone file or the domain name system,” GAO analysts wrote. “It also is doubtful that either would be considered property under common law principles, because no entity appears to have a right to their exclusive possession or use.”
The agency added that certain contracts and trademarks involved with the transfer could be considered U.S. property, but that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, housed in the Department of Commerce, claims authority to terminate those holdings, eliminating the American stake.
GAO similarly found “hard copies of reports, data, and other information” that are unambiguously federal property would remain housed in the Commerce Department. “Almost all of the Article IV Government property we have identified related to the domain name system and IANA functions will not, according to NTIA, be transferred or otherwise disposed of in connection with the proposed transition,” it said.
“For the foregoing reasons, we find it is unlikely that either the authoritative root zone file or the Internet domain name system is U.S. Government property under Article IV,” the report added. “We also find that the possible U.S. property interests that we have identified either would not be disposed of in connection with the proposed transition or would be disposed of in compliance with Article IV.”
GAO said the American role in the Internet had been a “stewardship” role, and that Congress could address that issue separately. “Although it is unlikely that NTIA’s planned actions would violate the Constitution, we acknowledge that the proposed transition would result in NTIA surrendering the role that the U.S. government has played in some form for nearly 50 years,” it said.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2591826
“Today, NTIA exercises both broad contractual oversight and specific contractual control regarding the IANA functions and domain name system, a role described by the global multistakeholder community and NTIA itself as providing ‘stewardship,’ an ‘accountability backstop,’ and a ‘safety net,'” GAO stated. “Congress may wish to take steps to address the broader issues raised by the transition if it believes there should continue to be direct U.S. oversight and control. This opinion expresses no views on the merits of the proposed transition.”
The report was issued in response to a request from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who head the Judiciary committees in their respective chambers, as well as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and California Rep. Darrell Issa.
The group of Republicans have criticized a plan by the Obama administration to cede control over a key function of the Internet to an international agency. The Web was originally conceived out of a taxpayer-funded project by the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, leading Congress to question whether it constitutes American property.
