A global ‘private’ regime governing the Domain Name System (DNS)
Tobias Mahler · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2019
Chapter 2 introduces the private regime governing the domain name system (DNS), including some of the regulatory issues regarding the DNS. It shows how ICANN has evolved as the key actor in its governance. The actors involved in the registration and use of domain names include Internet users, as well as several other categories of actors involved in the registration and use of domain names. This chapter also serves to introduce some of the regulatory issues discussed below. This chapter introduces ICANN and its role in the DNS’s governance and regulation. A brief historical overview shows the diminishing influence of the US government over the DNS, and the evolution of a global private regulatory regime outside traditional categories of domestic or international law.