Swedish regulator Goran Marby was selected on Monday to serve as the next CEO of the non-profit corporation responsible for overseeing Internet access and functions around the globe.
Marby will take over the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in May. ICANN is the independent body governing Internet access worldwide, and its power is set to grow when it assumes independent control of the agency responsible for operating domain names on the web in September. To date, jurisdiction over that department has been maintained by the U.S. government.
In an interview with AFP, Marby expressed support for the multistakeholder model of Internet governance, which involves participation from private actors as well as governments.
“The multistakeholder model has proven its strength,” Marby said in the interview. “It’s important for me to continue this development. This is the way to move forward now.
“The beauty of the stakeholder model is that it is like the Internet,” Marby added. “The Internet is very distributed, so there are many checks and balances in the system to make sure it works. It is an unusual model but it is a working model and it is proven.”
The multistakeholder model has received consistent support both from the United States and the United Nations. It’s been criticized by China, where officials prefer multilateral models run by government. Marby’s assumption of leadership at ICANN will put him in a position to continue articulating the case for the multistakeholder model.
Marby, who presently serves as director-general of the Swedish Post and Telecom authority, said he will move his family from Stockholm to Los Angeles, where ICANN is based. He will replace outgoing CEO Fadi Chehade, an American, who has led the organization for more than three years and largely overseen the process of transferring Internet control from the U.S. to ICANN.
In an interview with AFP last month, Chehade said concerns about the U.S. transferring its last vestiges of control were overblown.
“People have aggrandized the role of the U.S. government in what we do; but the change is actually minimal,” Chehade said. “It’s important symbolically because the US was really a steward for the Internet, but for day-to-day accountability, it is minimal.
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“We have a very solid process that ensures this is not a capturable board,” Chehade added.
