Ruling the Root

Mueller, Milton L.

ISBN 10: 0262632985 / ISBN 13: 9780262632980

Published by MIT Press Ltd, 2004

About this Item

An account of the complex, frequently contentious, issues of Internet governance and the formation of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Num Pages: 328 pages. BIC Classification: KNTX; UBJ; UDB. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 156 x 230 x 20. Weight in Grams: 524. . 2004. Paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780262632980

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ruling the Root
• Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262632985
• ISBN 13: 9780262632980
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In Ruling the Root, Milton Mueller uses the theoretical framework of institutional economics to analyze the global policy and governance problems created by the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses. "The root" is the top of the domain name hierarchy and the Internet address space. It is the only point of centralized control in what is otherwise a distributed and voluntaristic network of networks. Both domain names and IP numbers are valuable resources, and their assignment on a coordinated basis is essential to the technical operation of the Internet. Mueller explains how control of the root is being leveraged to control the Internet itself in such key areas as trademark and copyright protection, surveillance of users, content regulation, and regulation of the domain name supply industry.

Control of the root originally resided in an informally organized technical elite comprised mostly of American computer scientists. As the Internet became commercialized and domain name registration became a profitable business, a six-year struggle over property rights and the control of the root broke out among Internet technologists, business and intellectual property interests, international organizations, national governments, and advocates of individual rights. By the late 1990s, it was apparent that only a new international institution could resolve conflicts among the factions in the domain name wars. Mueller recounts the fascinating process that led to the formation of a new international regime around ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. In the process, he shows how the vaunted freedom and openness of the Internet is being diminished by the institutionalization of the root.

About the Author

Milton L. Mueller is Professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. He is the author of Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2002) and other books.