April 21, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Foundation today issued a special report on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), “ICANN Do What I Want.”
ICANN is poised to take sole control over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions when its contract with the U.S. Commerce Department expires on Sept. 30, leaving ICANN as the world’s only resolver of website IP addresses and domain names.
The report asks “why the organization, despite having obtained tax-exempt status under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, is engaged in quite a bit of lobbying. It told the IRS it would not lobby when it filed for exempt status,” Americans for Limited Government Foundation President Nathan Mehrens wrote in a synopsis of the report.
And, “despite originally telling the IRS that its board would not be compensated other than reimbursements, ICANN has since changed course and the board is well compensated,” Mehrens added.
“If ICANN is pushing the boundaries and thumbing its nose at the Congress now, imagine how it will behave if the U.S. government oversight role is relinquished. This is not an outcome we can afford as there are no do-overs once the relinquishment occurs,” Mehrens concluded.
Attachments:
“Special Report: ICANN Do What I Want,” Americans for Limited Government Foundation, April 21, 2016 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ICANN-Report-Final_04.19.16.pdf
“ICANN do what I want,” By Nathan Mehrens, President, Americans for Limited Government Foundation, April 21, 2016 at http://netrightdaily.com/2016/04/icann-do-what-i-want/
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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