Rice Pressured Eu Over Internet Control

It was billed as a row which could have spelled the end of the internet as we know it. But now it has emerged that a strongly-worded letter from the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, could have been instrumental in preventing a diplomatic catfight over who controls the internet.

The note, undersigned by Ms Rice and her colleague Carlos Guiterrez, the US secretary of commerce, was sent to the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, in the run-up to last month's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The letter suggests that America's control of the internet - a loose supervision of the global communication network's core structure - should remain as it is. This was contrary to plans to become more involved in the running of the system being put forward by groups including the European Union.

"Burdensome, bureaucratic oversight is out of place in an internet structure that has worked so well for many around the globe," said the letter. "We regret the recent positions on internet governance offered by the European Union," which, it said, seem to propose "a new structure of intergovernmental control over the internet".

The US government maintains overall control of the foundations upon which the internet is built, overseeing the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), which is responsible for the net's root servers and naming system.

But Brazil, China and Iran were among those lobbying for greater involvement - and with the European Union also proposing a number of changes, pressure was brought to bear on Mr Straw and other European ministers.

"The security and stability of the internet are essential to the United States, the European Union, and to the world," continued the letter, a copy of which emerged last week on IT news website the Register . "We firmly believe that the existing internet system balances the stability and security we need with the innovation and dynamism that private sector leadership provides."

There were widespread concerns that a breakdown in relations between the US and other countries could result in an internet meltdown, after many governments decided they wanted a say in how the internet was run. But the fears evaporated during the WSIS meeting, as American pressure came to bear upon other countries, and attendees eventually agreed to extend the status quo.