After reading this article I couldn't help but ponder the question of who should "run" the internet. ICANN, in my opinion, ruled itself out the day they decided to boot the "at large" members and become a "corporations only" club (not that they were ever in the running in the first place). Government operation of the internet is a HUGE no-no with the possible exception of anti-spam legislation (yes, I think unsolicited advertisments via email should be illegal). So who should run the internet?

The do-gooders have found a new cause for 2003: Saving the Internet from the private interests intent on mucking up the cyberlandscape.

Considering that 40 percent of all U.S. citizens have been online for more than three years and that most are able to find the information they seek when surfing the Web (according to a Dec. 29 Pew study on the Internet and American life), that's a curious cause.

No matter. This story line is going to get played out in the next 12 months, and how it concludes will leave an indelible imprint on the future of the Internet.

The only surprise is that these folks took so long to get involved. In a world of nation-states, the pre-Sept. 11 Internet era enjoyed a remarkably long run marked by self-regulation, decentralization and individual control. As the Web went global, I was sure policy-makers would move faster to bend the anarchistic, nobody-owns-it philosophy of the Internet to their liking.

Public interest advocates are making up for lost time. Urging far more muscular government oversight and involvement, they are keen on making sure the public gets to represent its interest in the development of the Internet. One of the most articulate and forceful examples of the something-must-be-done mind-set was recently served up by Zoe Baird, president of the Markle Foundation.

In the December 2002 edition of the periodical Foreign Affairs, Baird argued that government's unique role elevates its importance as an institution for deciding "what public values need to be protected"--even when different governments do not necessarily share the same values
Personally, I think it should be run by us, the "citizens" of the internet, even though setting up such a system of "government" would be a monumental task. What do the rest of you think?