In Ruling the Root, Milton Mueller uses the theoretical framework of                  institutional economics to analyze the global policy and governance problems created                  by the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses. "The root" is the top of                  the domain name hierarchy and the Internet address space. It is the only point of                  centralized control in what is otherwise a distributed and voluntaristic network of                  networks. Both domain names and IP numbers are valuable resources, and their                  assignment on a coordinated basis is essential to the technical operation of the                  Internet. Mueller explains how control of the root is being leveraged to control the                  Internet itself in such key areas as trademark and copyright protection,                  surveillance of users, content regulation, and regulation of the domain name supply                  industry.Control of the root originally resided in an informally organized technical                  elite comprised mostly of American computer scientists. As the Internet became                  commercialized and domain name registration became a profitable business, a six-year                  struggle over property rights and the control of the root broke out among Internet                  technologists, business and intellectual property interests, international                  organizations, national governments, and advocates of individual rights. By the late                  1990s, it was apparent that only a new international institution could resolve                  conflicts among the factions in the domain name wars. Mueller recounts the                  fascinating process that led to the formation of a new international regime around                  ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. In the process, he                  shows how the vaunted freedom and openness of the Internet is being diminished by                  the institutionalization of the root.

Ruling the Root : Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace PDF

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