Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on IANA Stewardship Transition

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker issued the following statement today regarding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s determination that the proposal submitted by the global Internet multistakeholder community meets the criteria NTIA outlined in March 2014 when it announced its intention to complete the privatization of the Internet’s domain name system.

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in the U.S. government’s 18-year effort to privatize the Internet’s domain name system,” Secretary Pritzker said. “This transition ensures that the Internet continues to flourish as a platform for innovation, economic growth and free expression. I want to thank the Internet’s diverse multistakeholder community, which includes businesses, technical experts, and civil society groups, for their dedication and hard work.”

As part of this 18-year privatization effort, in 2014, NTIA said it would transition the U.S. government’s stewardship role of technical functions related to the Internet’s domain name system (DNS), commonly known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, to the Internet’s global multistakeholder community.