Internet

== Governance ==
{{Main|Internet governance}}
[[File:Icannheadquartersplayavista.jpg|thumb|ICANN headquarters in the [[Playa Vista, Los Angeles|Playa Vista]] neighborhood of [[Los Angeles]], California, United States]]

The Internet is a [[global network]] that comprises many voluntarily interconnected autonomous networks. It operates without a central governing body. The technical underpinning and standardization of the core protocols ([[IPv4]] and [[IPv6]]) is an activity of the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF), a non-profit organization of loosely affiliated international participants that anyone may associate with by contributing technical expertise. To maintain interoperability, the principal [[name space]]s of the Internet are administered by the [[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]] (ICANN). ICANN is governed by an international board of directors drawn from across the Internet technical, business, academic, and other non-commercial communities. ICANN coordinates the assignment of unique identifiers for use on the Internet, including [[domain name]]s, IP addresses, application port numbers in the transport protocols, and many other parameters. Globally unified name spaces are essential for maintaining the global reach of the Internet. This role of ICANN distinguishes it as perhaps the only central coordinating body for the global Internet.<ref>{{cite web|last=Klein|first=Hans|year=2004|url=http://www.ip3.gatech.edu/research/KLEIN_ICANN%2BSovereignty.doc|title=ICANN and Non-Territorial Sovereignty: Government Without the Nation State|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524035251/http://www.ip3.gatech.edu/research/KLEIN_ICANN%2BSovereignty.doc|archive-date=24 May 2013|website=Internet and Public Policy Project|publisher=[[Georgia Institute of Technology]]}}</ref>

[[Regional Internet registry|Regional Internet registries]] (RIRs) were established for five regions of the world. The [[AfriNIC|African Network Information Center]] (AfriNIC) for [[Africa]], the [[American Registry for Internet Numbers]] (ARIN) for [[North America]], the [[Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre]] (APNIC) for [[Asia]] and the [[Pacific region]], the [[Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry]] (LACNIC) for [[Latin America]] and the [[Caribbean]] region, and the [[RIPE NCC|Réseaux IP Européens – Network Coordination Centre]] (RIPE NCC) for [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[Central Asia]] were delegated to assign IP address blocks and other Internet parameters to local registries, such as [[Internet service provider]]s, from a designated pool of addresses set aside for each region.

The [[National Telecommunications and Information Administration]], an agency of the [[United States Department of Commerce]], had final approval over changes to the [[DNS root zone]] until the IANA stewardship transition on 1 October 2016.<ref>{{cite book |last= Packard |first= Ashley |title= Digital Media Law |publisher= Wiley-Blackwell |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-1-4051-8169-3 |page= 65}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/01/bush_net_policy/|title=Bush administration annexes internet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919130539/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/01/bush_net_policy/|archive-date=19 September 2011|first=Kieren|last=McCarthy|website=The Register|date=1 July 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Mueller |first= Milton L. |title= Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance |publisher= MIT Press |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-0-262-01459-5 |page= 61}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ICG Applauds Transfer of IANA Stewardship|url=https://www.ianacg.org/icg-applauds-transfer-of-iana-stewardship/|website=IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG)|access-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712190131/https://www.ianacg.org/icg-applauds-transfer-of-iana-stewardship/|archive-date=12 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Internet Society]] (ISOC) was founded in 1992 with a mission to ''"assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world"''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/isochistory.shtml |title=Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet: History of the Internet |publisher=ISOC |access-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127114016/http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/isochistory.shtml |archive-date=27 November 2011 }}</ref> Its members include individuals (anyone may join) as well as corporations, [[organizations]], governments, and universities. Among other activities ISOC provides an administrative home for a number of less formally organized groups that are involved in developing and managing the Internet, including: the IETF, [[Internet Architecture Board]] (IAB), [[Internet Engineering Steering Group]] (IESG), [[Internet Research Task Force]] (IRTF), and [[Internet Research Steering Group]] (IRSG). On 16 November 2005, the United Nations-sponsored [[World Summit on the Information Society]] in [[Tunis]] established the [[Internet Governance Forum]] (IGF) to discuss Internet-related issues.