Jul 21, 2004 : ICANN Moves Closer to Independence

📅 July 21, 2004 - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (icann.org) is moving closer to separating itself form the US Department of Commerce and becoming a self-governing entity, according to reports.

Vint Cerf, chairman of ICANN, said earlier this week at ICANN's tri-annual meeting that seven out of the 24 tasks required to separate ICANN's operations from the US government have been completed. ICANN and the US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration agreed to a deal in September of 2003 that set out the 24 stipulations. Once adhered to, ICANN would be completely independent and have full control over the US root server infrastructure.
ICANN was established in October of 1998. According to the report, it is set to take control in 2006.
In recent months, ICANN has made moves in preparation of its impending self-rule. In May, ICANN raised fees in order to increase its budgetary revenue. The decision caused widespread protests from domain registrars.