BRUSSELS, May 5 (UPI) -- An EU official says she wants a new international body for governing the address system of the Internet.
EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding is calling for a new model for overseeing the Internet starting in October when the agreement between the current governing body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and the U.S. Commerce Department runs out, the EUobserver reported Tuesday.
Reding urged U.S. President Barack Obama to fully privatize ICANN, coupled with the establishment of an international, independent judicial body, which she reportedly described as a "G12 for Internet governance" and a "multilateral forum for governments to discuss general Internet governance policy and security issues."
"I trust that President Obama will have the courage, the wisdom and the respect for the global nature of the Internet to pave the way in September for a new, more accountable, more transparent, more democratic and more multilateral form of Internet governance," Reding said in a video message posted on her EU Commission Web site.
Reding said the current address set-up leaves open questions of to whom ICANN is accountable, given the international dependence on the Internet and its address system, the EUobserver reported.
