ICANN Gains U.S. Support:

The nonprofit group that oversees the Internet addressing system won an endorsement from congressional investigators. The General Accounting Office said in a report to Congress that the U.S. Commerce Department had the legal authority to hand off some key administrative functions to the Los Angeles-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The 2-year-old group, known as ICANN, may also collect user fees to cover its cost, the GAO said. Last summer, the group dropped a plan to collect a $1 fee from people who registered Internet addresses after the House Commerce Committee challenged its authority. ICANN has struggled to gain the trust of some members of the Internet community, but the GAO report may help ICANN respond to critics. ICANN also asked the Commerce Department to extend its contract beyond the Sept. 30 expiration date because it will need more time to set up a replacement system allowing Internet users to govern themselves. Approval is likely.