Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, widely known as ICANN, is a global multistakeholder, non-profit organisation charged with safeguarding the stability and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifiers. Based in the United States and now headquartered in the Playa Vista neighbourhood of Los Angeles, ICANN oversees essential technical and administrative components of the global Internet, from the Domain Name System (DNS) to Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation.

Functions and Role in Internet Governance

ICANN coordinates the maintenance of central databases related to Internet namespaces and numerical spaces. Among its principal responsibilities is the performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, which include:

• managing the DNS root zone;
• allocating blocks of IP addresses for IPv4 and IPv6 to Regional Internet Registries;
• maintaining registries of protocol parameters used by Internet standards.

The organisation’s mission involves preserving the operational stability of the global network, fostering competition within the domain name marketplace, ensuring broad representation of international Internet communities and implementing policies through a consensus-driven, multistakeholder process. The motto “One World, One Internet” has frequently accompanied ICANN’s communication materials since 2010.
Much of ICANN’s policy work centres on DNS management, including the internationalisation of domain names and the introduction of new generic top-level domains. The organisation also participates in the coordination of root name servers and the development of procedures to strengthen the resilience of the global addressing system.

Origins and Institutional Development

Prior to ICANN’s formation, the IANA functions were carried out informally by Jon Postel, a pioneering computer scientist involved in the creation of ARPANET. Operating first at the University of California, Los Angeles, and later at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, Postel oversaw essential naming and numbering tasks as part of his research activities. These responsibilities were supported by agencies of the United States Department of Defense.
By the late 1990s the expanding scale of the Internet prompted the United States Department of Commerce to initiate the transition of these functions to a new organisation. In February 1998 the National Telecommunications and Information Administration published its “Green Paper”, outlining proposals to privatise and internationalise the management of Internet names and numbers. Public consultation produced hundreds of responses, and by September 1998 ICANN was formally incorporated in California as a public-benefit non-profit corporation. Esther Dyson became its founding chairwoman.
ICANN’s early structure envisaged three supporting organisations responsible for policy formation in their respective areas: the Address Supporting Organization, the Domain Name Supporting Organization and the Protocol Supporting Organization. While the regional Internet registries and the Internet Engineering Task Force assumed roles in the first and third organisations, ICANN eventually adopted a modified internal structure for DNS policy development.

Relationship with the United States Government

For many years ICANN’s operations proceeded under contract with the United States Department of Commerce, which retained varying degrees of oversight. In 2006 the Department renewed ICANN’s IANA contract and issued statements reaffirming its control over key components of the DNS, including the authoritative root zone file.
A significant development occurred in 2009 when ICANN signed the Affirmation of Commitments with the Department of Commerce, formally recognising ICANN’s role in maintaining a multistakeholder governance model. Despite this, oversight by the Department continued, generating public debate and criticism over the extent of US influence.
On 1 October 2016 the stewardship of the IANA functions fully transitioned from the United States government to the global multistakeholder community. This marked a milestone in Internet governance, symbolising the shift towards a more internationally distributed model of authority.

Structure, Leadership and Controversies

As a non-profit organisation, ICANN operates under Californian public-benefit corporation law. It has often been the subject of legal, political and academic scrutiny. Critics have questioned the legality of its previous relationship with the Department of Commerce, the transparency of its governance processes and the scope of its regulatory authority.
ICANN has also been involved in high-profile disputes. In 2002 board member Karl Auerbach sued the organisation to access its accounting records, prevailing in court. In 2003 ICANN intervened in the controversy surrounding VeriSign’s Site Finder service, which introduced wildcard entries into the DNS; after ICANN’s objection, VeriSign withdrew the service and subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging ICANN had exceeded its authority. While antitrust claims were dismissed, contractual questions persisted.
ICANN continues to evolve, responding to the complexities of Internet governance and global digital development. In June 2024 it was announced that Kurt Erik Lindqvist, chief executive of the London Internet Exchange, would assume the presidency and CEO role from December 2024.

Notable Milestones

Throughout its history ICANN has overseen significant developments in the global Internet:

• expansion of the generic top-level domain space through the introduction of new TLDs;
• continued work on internationalised domain names to support multilingual access;
• coordination of IPv4 exhaustion strategies and promotion of IPv6 adoption;
• stewardship transition of the IANA functions in 2016, transferring oversight to the global community.