Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace

Milton L. Mueller

MIT Press, Jan 23, 2009 - Business & Economics - 328 pages

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.

Contents

• The Basic Political Economy of Identifiers: 15
• 22 Defining the Space: 16
• 23 Assigning Unique Values: 17
• 24 Governance Arrangements: 26
• The Ethernet Address Space: 27
• 26 Review of the Framework: 29
• The Internet Name and Address Spaces: 31
• 31 The Internet Address Space: 32
• 32 The Internet Name Space: 39
• 33 The DNS Root: 47
• 34 Conclusion: 56
• The Root and Institutional Change Analytical Framework: 57
• 41 Formation of Property Rights: 58
• 42 Property Rights: 60
• 43 Technological Change Endowment and Appropriation: 61
• 44 Institutionalization: 63
• 45 Applying the Framework to Internet Governance: 67
• The Story of the Root: 71
• Growing the Root: 73
• 51 Prehistory: 74
• 52 The Origin of the Root: 75
• 53 Growth and Convergence: 82
• 54 Growth and Governance: 89
• 55 Who Controlled the Root?: 98
• Appropriating the Root Property Rights Conflicts: 105
• Commercial Use and the World Wide Web: 106
• 62 Conflicts over SecondLevel Domains: 115
• 63 Conflicts over TopLevel Domains: 124
• 64 Conflicts over the Root: 134
• The Root in Play: 141
• 71 IAHC and the gTLDMoU: 142
• 72 Political Reaction to the gTLDMoU: 146
• 73 Challenges to Network Solutions: 151
• 74 The US Government Intervenes: 154
• 75 The Green Paper and Its Aftermath: 159
• Institutionalizing the Root The Formation of ICANN: 163
• 81 From Green Paper to White Paper: 164
• 82 The International Forum on the White Paper: 175
• The New Regime: 185
• Registrar Accreditation: 186
• WHOIS and UDRP: 190
• 93 The Assimilation of Network Solutions: 194
• 94 US Government Policy Authority over the Root: 197
• 96 New TopLevel Domains: 201
• 97 Country Codes and National Governments: 205
• Issues and Themes: 209
• ICANN as Global Regulatory Regime: 211
• 101 What ICANN Is Not: 212
• 102 What ICANN Is: 217
• 103 Forces Affecting ICANNs Future: 221
• Global Rights to Names: 227
• 111 A Web Site by Any Other Name: 228
• 112 Expanding Trademark Rights: 231
• WIPO 2: 238
• 114 Free Expression vs Controlled Vocabulary: 245
• 115 DNS vs WIPO: 252
• Property Rights and Institutional Change Some Musings on Theory: 255
• 122 Who Owns the Name Space?: 259
• The Taming of the Net: 265
• Selected Acronyms: 269
• Notes: 273
• References: 303
• Index: 311

About the author

Milton L. Mueller is Professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. He is the author of Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2002) and other books.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace; The MIT Press
• Author: Milton L. Mueller
• Publisher: MIT Press, 2009
• ISBN: 0262263793, 9780262263795
• Length: 328 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Management