The internet governance body Icann (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), has reiterated that it does not intend to police content on the internet.
"We should stay out of anything that smacks of regulating content," Icann chief compliance officer Allen Grogan said at the public meeting of the organisation's Non-commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG).
"It's not within the scope of our authority," Mr Grogan told meeting delegates, who represent civil society organisations and perspectives. The NCSG has about 500 individual and group members, according to NCSG chair Mohammed Rafik.
Icann has come under increasing pressure from governments, law enforcement bodies, industry groups and copyright holders to step in and shut down websites or censor content.
The organisation, which oversees the internet’s technical standards, domain names and internet addressing, is holding a major public meeting at Dublin’s Convention Centre this week.
Divisive issues before the organisation at the meeting is whether to require the public listing of the personal contact details for owners of commercial domains or - because it oversees internet addresses and domains - act on requests to remove content or entire websites.
Address
Icann president and chief executive Fadi Chehadé used his opening address on Monday to argue that Icann’s role is solely at the technical layer of internet management and that it should not be directly involved in policing content or making determinations about whether content across the web is legal or appropriate.
Mr Chehadé said that Icann has a role to play in facilitating legitimate takedown requests but should not make those decisions itself. He pointed to agreements in the financial services sector by which credit card companies will work to shut down fraudulent websites.
Mr Grogan also indicated such third party arrangements were a more appropriate approach. However, he said he felt that Icann should be neutral and not play a role in bringing together stakeholders to enable them to negotiate such arrangements amongst themselves.
“I don’t even think Icann should be the trusted third party to convene those meetings,” he said.
“I think we need to be careful from brokering or mediating those kinds of discussions. They really need to be independent.”
Icann’s remit was to maintain the stability and security of the internet, he said, adding, “stability and security, meaning ‘Does that thing work’,” not a consideration of the legality or potential criminal intent of a website or its content.
Some 2,500 delegates are attending the event, which concludes tomorrow.
