Although the corporation exists, its function as a gatekeeper of the Internet is still only a proposal.

While the proposal's author, Jon Postel,director of the Internet Assigned NumbersAuthority, described it in a cover letter ascommanding "the support of a broad consensus ofInternet stakeholders, private and public,"opposition to the proposal has surfaced.

Foremost is concern that the board of directorsof ICANN would have too much discretion inchoosing their successors.

"The corporation is relatively closed," Lessigsaid.

If the board is reorganized from an interim toa permanent body, nine of the members would benominated from three supporting umbrellaorganizations, each concerning different aspectsof Internet administration.

However, the board would have to approve therepresentatives of these organizations. Inaddition, the board would elect nine other"at-large" members; No other bodies would vote forthe members.

"That violates a principle of separation ofpowers between the supporting organizations andthe board," Lessig said.

"As it exists right now," he said, "the onlycheck on its activities would be the activity ofthe California Attorney General, who one wouldthink has better things to do."

Additional objections were raised in a publiccomment sent to the Department of Commerce by J.William Semich, President and CFO of .NU DomainLtd., a domain name provider.

"If the bylaws are approved unchanged by theWhite House as the basis for the Internet's firstindependent governance mechanism, the new ICANNInternet Authority would be able to set a widerange of Internet-related fees of any amountwithout constraint," Semich wrote.

In an official position statement released lastweek, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), anInternet advocacy group, also criticized theproposal for lacking due process and free speechprotections. As ICANN would be a private entityrather than a government contractor, EFF argued,groups or corporations denied domain names wouldhave little recourse. Dyson is a board member ofEFF as well as the new corporation.

However, the bylaws of the new corporationattempt to prevent these problems through a systemof open decision-making. According to theproposal, the board is required to "operate to themaximum extent feasible in an open and transparentmanner...consistent with procedures designed toensure fairness."

Activities of the corporation must "be broadlydisclosed and widely publicized on the Internetand otherwise, including the prompt publication ofminutes of all meetings," the proposal stated.

The bylaws also prohibit officials ofgovernments or multinational organizations such asthe United Nations from sitting on the board.

"This organization," Postel wrote, "will beunique in the world--a non-governmentalorganization with significant responsibilities foradministering what is becoming an important globalresource.