Whose domain is it anyway ?

I have been reading with fascination the present trend of the internet and the fight that has been going on over its control.

Well, control may not be the apt word but I am not sure what else to use. The World Summit on the Information Society was held in the Tunisian capital Tunis this week and looks like for now the Original owner/creator (if I may say so) of the Internet, the United States, has come out victorious.

Its a given that it was the pioneering efforts of the US government agencies, the Universities and corporations that brought about the age of the internet. The size of the internet today is so huge that its impossible to fathom.

But what amuses me is the continued US effort to somehow keep control of this behemoth even after it has matured out of the US shores and spread its wings world wide. The baby no more belongs to the mother but is now free to spread its wings and sore to new heights.

This continued effort by the US to keep other countries out of the domain control agency only strengthens the suspicion in the minds of other coutries that the US would never play as a fair team player. To have the final say in the domains would give it virtual control over the uncontrollable web, they claim.

Whether that is true or not, I am can pretty much predict that its only a matter of time before the US would have to accomodate and share the domain controls levers.

The words of Kimberley Heitman, Director of Electronic Frontiers Australia sums up this fear beautifully.

"The capacity to shut down the internet is beyond the capacity of any government, including the US. It's like two fleas arguing over who owns the dog."