New Icann chairman is a Kiwi

Wellington barrister Peter Dengate Thrush doesn't expect his life to change much after being elected as the first non-American chairman of Icann, the US-based body that sets policy for the Internet addressing system worldwide.

Mr Dengate Thrush says he will continue to live in Wellington, but expects to travel overseas more after taking up the highly prestigious role.

Icann receives about US25 cents each time a website address is registered in a top-level domain - a rapidly-growing income stream that should give it a budget of US$45 million (NZ$57 million) this year.

All Icann's board members are volunteers and Mr Dengate Thrush says he will need to continue with his legal practice in order to fund his "Icann habit". The issue of whether Icann board members should be compensated for their time is one that is likely to be discussed during his tenure.

The appointment is unlikely to have any direct economic spin-offs for New Zealand or give it much sway over policy-making, though Mr Dengate Thrush says there may be a few more people swinging through the capital.

All Icann's decisions are voted on by its 21-member board, of which Mr Dengate Thrush was previously a member.

The chairmanship comes up for re-election every year, though there have only been two past chairs and Mr Dengate Thrush expects to be given time to "get his feet under the desk and do what I want to do".

He succeeds Vint Cerf, frequently described as the "father of the Internet", who had chaired the organisation since 1999.

Challenges faced by Icann include upgrading software that lies behind the Internet addressing system, keeping a step ahead of hackers who have repeatedly tried to attack the global network of name servers that directs Internet traffic worldwide, and establishing new rules for the creation of top-level domains.

Mr Dengate Thrush says another challenge is completing the transition of Icann from an organisation that derived its authority from a "memorandum of understanding" with the US Department of Commerce to an industry-led global body that is regarded as truly independent.

"The mission of Icann is to build itself into a global organisation that operates using transparent `bottom-up' processes that are industry self-regulated and largely government-free and that it will - as much as it can do - promote competition," he says.

"Governments and the Internet community around the world are a little bit anxious about this very particular relationship that Icann has with the US government and there will be meetings in Rio de Janeiro (this) week where governments of the world will doubtless express their views about that.

"That is the next challenge: keeping international support for Icann and transitioning out of the current relationship with the US Commerce Department into some new more international arrangement."

The machinations of Icann are mostly only of interest to businesses that specialise in registering websites and the specialists who keep the Internet address system running smoothly.

But controversy has surrounded deliberations on whether to allow a "red light zone in cyberspace" - which some supporters say might eventually make it easier for people to steer clear of sexually-explicit content.

Mr Dengate Thrush seconded a motion in March that would have allowed Canadian firm ICM Registry to run a ".xxx" domain for sexually-explicit websites. It was voted down 9-5 by Icann's board, with Dr Cerf opposing.

ICM Registry is threatening legal action against Icann and the US government, which it believes may have unduly influenced Icann.

ICM Registry chairman Stuart Lawley welcomed Mr Dengate Thrush's appointment. "I think Peter was by far the outstanding candidate and I'm pleased someone with a solid legal grounding now has the chair," he says.

Mr Dengate Thrush says ICM Registry could appeal against Icann's previous ruling or sue the organisation. Alternatively, it could wait till the new rules were in place governing top-level domains and then resubmit its application.

- © Fairfax NZ News