yeah - probably raises the risk of exploitation too by those who would 
game the system for fraud.

On 11/22/2010 7:40 AM, Milton L Mueller wrote:
> Mark
> ICANN actually doesn't control the root servers, which are somewhat autonomously run by various entities around the world.
> Actually it (with oversight from the US Dept of commerce) manages the contents of the root zone file.
> Those contents are then distributed by the root servers.
> As Jorge suggests, it is the need for coordinated uniqueness in top level names that creates the centralization.
> As you noted, ICANN, DoC and others exploit this need for coordination to impose political and regulatory controls on the DNS.
> It is possible, as I and others have argued, to have multiple roots, not centrally coordinated, but this also raises the risk of some incompatibilities.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NCSG-NCUC [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Marc Perkel
>> Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 11:22 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [NCSG-NCUC-DISCUSS] Can ICANN be decentralized?
>>
>> Just wondering.
>>
>> It seems that ICANN is the point where it is most vulnerable to
>> government control because it is a point where domains can be removed
>> from the Internet. I'm wondering if there is a way to decentralize that,
>> and if it would be a good idea to do so if it could be done.
>>
>> As I understand the technology, ICANN controls the root servers. Would
>> it be possible to have multiple root server systems outside of central
>> control? Or is there a way ICANN can operate outside of US control? To
>> be able to say NO to US law?
>>
>> Just trying to think outside the box.