2. ICANN Relationship

ICANN oversees the Internet's DNS through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commerce Department. ICANN's current MOU -- also known as the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) -- expires in September.

At issue is whether ICANN should be free of Commerce Department oversight after the agreement expires, or whether another agreement should be put in place by the U.S. government to ensure stable operation of the DNS.

ICANN wants to be independent, to operate on its own through its collaborative processes that involve the global Internet community.

Many Internet engineers agree that it's time for ICANN to be independent of U.S. government control.