Names, Numbers, and Global Governance

In 1995, the management of Internet domain names started to blow up into a global policy issue. Controversy over this issue led to the formation in 1998 of a new international organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) went about creating a new global regime that links domain name assignment and intellectual property dispute resolution. ICANN has even toyed with the possibility of creating a new form of global citizenship for Internet users.