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ICANN has suggested it should become independent of U.S. Department of Commerce oversight when the current Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the agency expires in September 2009.

However, some people have suggested the JPA should remain in place to provide accountability. Those include, Thomas Lenard, president and senior fellow at the conservative think tank iGrowGlobal, who has filed a comment with NTIA saying:

"The fact that ICANN may be making progress toward meeting its responsibilities does not imply that the JPA is no longer needed. Indeed, it may demonstrate the value of the JPA. If ICANN's progress is related to the JPA and the existing tie to the Department of Commerce, then terminating that arrangement would be counterproductive to continued progress… Simply terminating the JPA is likely to lead to unanticipated and undesirable consequences. Before taking such a step, there needs to be a lot more analysis of its implications. Most importantly, there needs to be a lot more planning to develop a structure for a 'privatized' ICANN, providing it with the right incentives and constraints that will assure the long-term health of the Internet. The JPA should only be concluded if there is a plan in place that defines and can assure ICANN's good performance over time."

Update: As noted in the comment below by Milton Mueller, there have been numerous comments submitted as part of this consultation. Readers are encouraged to visit the NTIA website for a full scope of comments.

Read full story: InfoWorld

Related topics: DNS, ICANN, Internet Governance