Magaziner, Lessig Spar Over Domain Name Plan

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June 11, 1998 (11:46 AM EDT)

Magaziner, Lessig Spar Over Domain Name Plan

By Mo Krochmal,

NEW YORK -- Ira Magaziner, the Clinton administration's point person on technology, said Wednesday the next few months will tell if the U.S. policy of letting the Internet self-regulate will work.

Magaziner, who shared a forum with technology pundit Esther Dyson and Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, said within six months the federal government will know if private initiatives on Internet domain names are working. "If not, then we will have to review it again," he said.

Last Friday, the U.S. government released its policy on the regulation of Internet domain names. In the long-awaited white paper, the government said it would let Internet stakeholders establish a non-profit agency and a board of directors to direct registration of top-level domain names such as .com, .net, and .org.

But Lessig disagreed, saying the implications of creating a special non-profit agency seems like a substitute for government, but one that does not have to answer to an electorate.

"This is bizarre for a democracy," said Lessig. "Why not just carve up the government into private non-profit organizations and be done with it all? We are creating the most significant jurisdiction since the Louisiana purchase, and we are building it outside the review of the Constitution."

Magaziner bridled at the suggestion.

"In Washington, you need to act," Magaziner said. "The contracts were up in September and we couldn't let the Internet dissolve. You have to do something."

The government could have recommended continuing the status quo -- in which a private company, Network Solutions, holds a government monopoly on registration of top-level domans -- but decided to "try something different," he added.

Now that the government has taken action, it will bring together the individuals and the stakeholder groups who want to be involved in the domains process, Magaziner said.

"It sounds chaotic," he said. "We think it will be, but our goal is to make sure it is an inclusive process. There will not be 100 percent agreement; our goal is to get as many involved as possible."