U.S. to Renew Web Domain Pact

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that it would extend its oversight of the Marina del Rey- based organization that handles Internet domain name policies, while finding ways to improve the group’s accountability and transparency.

John Kneuer, the department’s acting assistant secretary for communications and information, said the government’s agreement with the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers was working and should continue.

The Commerce Department plans to renew a memorandum of understanding with ICANN, but it probably will add provisions designed to address complaints that the group is sometimes too secretive and that it makes decisions that don’t reflect the will of the Internet community at large, Kneuer said.

The agreement expires at the end of the month.

ICANN, which has an international governing board, was selected in 1998 to handle the Internet’s addressing issues, including the key directories that help Web browsers and e-mail programs find other computers on the Internet.