At midnight last night a new era in the evolution of the Internet was ushered in.
As of midnight EST the US government’s contract with ICANN has expired and the IANA transition is done. (Sure, there are still details that need to be finalised and ironed out, but the expiry of the contract is the key milestone.)
The Internet continues to work, as well or as badly as it did up until midnight. It wasn’t “doomsday“.
Nothing has changed for internet users around the world, at least not perceptibly. It’s business as usual.
You’ll still be able to enjoy your cat videos, or do business online.
You’ll still be able to do all the things you did via the internet yesterday.
Sure, the internet is far from perfect, but the last ditch efforts by a small group of US politicians and their supporters to block the IANA transition has failed. And for that we are all thankful.
The US government, as well as the Irish government, will continue to be a stakeholder in the development and evolution of internet policy and that is not a bad thing. However the “special” relationship that the US enjoyed up until now expired with the contract last night.
A big heartfelt “thank you” is owed to the many people who put in long hours to make this happen. You know who you are.
It was a long and arduous process, but the internet as a whole will benefit from it.
As a company based in a small town in Ireland the internet has allowed us to build a business that now employs 40 people full-time to serve our clients in over 150 countries around the world. We have always supported the IANA transition and believe that by moving the IANA functions, that are purely technical, to the global multistakeholder community the internet is stronger.