Schatz Calls For Timely Transition Of IANA To Global Multistakeholder Community

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), ranking member of the Senate Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet Subcommittee, called for the timely transition of oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the global multistakeholder community. In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing today, Senator Schatz stressed the importance of the transition in maintaining the open and global nature of the Internet. 

“The experts are clear – the IANA transition needs to happen, and it needs to happen on time,” said Senator Schatz. “The Internet may have its roots in the U.S., but its social, economic, and human rights benefits depend on the Internet’s global nature. A successful IANA transition will ensure that the global community continues to benefit from an open Internet.”

The Senate Commerce Committee hearing examined the proposed transition of oversight of IANA, a department of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that allocates Internet IP addresses and domain names, to the global multistakeholder community. Two years ago, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its intention to transition IANA functions to the global multistakeholder community.