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07/01/2005:

"U.S. to Retain Oversight of Web Traffic"

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- A unilateral decision by the United States to indefinitely retain oversight of the Internet's main traffic-directing computers prompted concerns Friday that the global telecommunications network could eventually splinter.

''This seems like an extension of American security in the aftermath of 9-11,'' said John Strand, a Denmark-based technology consultant. ''People will ask: `Do the Americans want to control the Internet?'''

Washington's decision, announced Thursday, departs from previously stated U.S. policy.

Many countries favor gradually releasing oversight of the Internet's so-called ''root servers'' to an international body, and a showdown on the issue could come in November at a U.N. information society summit to be held in Tunisia. A U.N. report this month on Internet governance is expected to address the issue.

Michael D. Gallagher, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Commerce Department, said in announcing the policy shift Thursday that it was a response to growing security threats and increased reliance on the Internet globally for communications and commerce.

But the explanation did little to allay fears that the United States is overstepping its boundaries and locking its grip on the Internet.
Full: nytimes.com