With so many hot-button issues like net neutrality and privacy, it’s not difficult to find people who want to talk about the internet. But who owns the internet? That’s the question everyone seems to be asking these days, and you might be surprised by the answers you find out there. The truth is that no one owns the internet, and even the companies who claim to have invented it aren’t entirely true. Let’s take a look at some of the most common claims made about internet ownership, and we might just learn something along the way.


What's on the Net

The internet has become an integral part of our lives and for many of us, it's hard to imagine a world without it. But who actually owns the internet? It might be more than you think. The U.S., China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and Japan all play some sort of role in running the net as do other entities like ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN is often considered to be the owners of the net because they oversee domain names but they are not technically owners. For example, ICANN can't tell your ISP what kind of content they should block. They also don't own any physical property or networks that help run the web. So where does that leave us? Well, we're still trying to figure out exactly how this will play out now that net neutrality regulations have been repealed. We may need to wait a few years until these decisions have had time to take effect and we can see if the environment on the web changes at all . As it stands right now, there's no clear answer. There's a lot of speculation about what'll happen now that net neutrality has been repealed. What will ISPs decide to do with their newfound freedom? Will certain sites get faster speeds while others struggle with connection times? We'll just have to wait and see.

The only thing we know for sure is that companies like Facebook and Google stand the most to lose with this new law gone into effect--and even then it's unclear just how much power those companies really wield over the rest of us.


Everything Is (Still) Up for Grabs

This is because most of these domains are registered under an organization called ICANN, which stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN is a nonprofit organization that manages domain names on behalf of the internet's private stakeholders, including individual users and organizations like companies or nonprofits. As a nonprofit corporation, it's not owned by any single entity and doesn't operate for profit. However, ICANN does have more than 1,000 employees and about $125 million in yearly revenue from its fees for managing things like domain registration. 

ICANN also coordinates IP address space allocation to regional organizations worldwide through its Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) program. For example, ARIN handles IP allocation in North America, while LACNIC oversees Latin America and Africa; APNIC covers Asia-Pacific; RIPE NCC serves Europe; AfriNIC supports Africa. ... When people speak about who owns the internet, what they're really asking is: Do I own my data? The answer is no. It may seem as if you can do whatever you want with your online presence, but in reality everything you create online belongs to your ISP—or whoever controls your Wi-Fi network—not you. You should know that when you upload content to a website or service like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr, you’re automatically granting those platforms rights over all the content you upload. And when we say content, we mean every photo you take, every status update and comment reply, every email—everything. In other words: Your data is theirs too.


Why Can't Companies Protect Their Web Addresses?

There are two types of people who own a website: the registrant, and the registrant's domain name provider (or registrar). The domain name provider is typically a third-party company that handles all of the administrative tasks related to registering a domain name. But when it comes time to renewing or transferring a domain name from one party to another, this task falls on the original owner of the site. It also falls on them if they need to make any changes like updating email addresses or nameservers, too. If you decide to stop paying for your domain, then your registrar will eventually send out an auto-renewal notice. If you don't renew within 30 days, then your domain will expire and become available for anyone else to purchase. However, in order to buy a domain, you'll have to pay a fee every year to keep it active. So even though someone could buy your expired domain at this point, their only option would be to wait until the next year before they can use it themselves. That means it would sit dormant for up to 365 days. Even if the new owner paid to register the site, they wouldn't be able to do anything with it unless they actually wanted to pay more money each month just so it doesn't go back into expired status. On top of that, there are other issues with domain ownership as well. For example, some sites may offer free hosting but charge for domain registration. Others might offer free domains but charge for web hosting. Some companies charge a fixed price, while others have tiers depending on how long you want to use the service for - say $10 per year versus $15 per month versus $30 per quarter - or whether you're willing to prepay in advance.


What's Going On with ICANN?

The internet is a global network of computers, networks and people. It's been around for decades and we can't imagine life without it! But how does it work, and who is in charge of keeping it safe? The answer might surprise you. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a nonprofit organization that helps coordinate how the internet runs globally by assigning domain names like .com or .org to companies or organizations. ICANN was created in 1998 when the US government stepped back from managing the internet. 

The organization has come under fire lately because some countries want more control over how their citizens use the web. Countries like Russia and China want to be able to block content they don't want citizens to see, but critics say this goes against what makes the internet so great: its freedom. What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know in the comments below. ICANN operates at arm’s length from governments and commerce, administering important aspects of the DNS Root Zone, including responsibility for the allocation of top-level domains. What do you think about ICANN? Do you agree with Russia and China's point of view? If not, let me know in the comments below. ICANN operates at arm’s length from governments and commerce, administering important aspects of the DNS Root Zone, including responsibility for the allocation of top-level domains. What do you think about ICANN? Do you agree with Russia and China's point of view?


Where Do All Those Domain Names Come From, Anyway?

The domain name system (DNS) is a hierarchically distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Most prominently, it translates human-readable website names into IP addresses that are readable by computer systems; this process is termed resolving. DNS answers queries from client software, which may be running on a computer or some other device requesting the identify of another computer using its name and other identifying information - these requests are referred to as lookups. In addition to answering requests from local clients, DNS servers can also respond with lists of cached records which have been preloaded or preconfigured. These are most often used to provide responses to recursively querying other DNS servers. When a resolver sends a recursive query, it initially contacts one of the root zone's 13 server operators and asks about where in the tree to start looking for an answer; there is usually at least one server operator per top level domain such as .com . net etc., and they refer it to the appropriate authority below them. There are seven total tiers of domain zones: Roots, Top Level Domains (TLDs), Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs), Second Level Domains (.com, .net etc.), Third Level Domains (.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.), Fourth Level Domains (.test), Fifth Level Domains (.example), Sixth Level Domains (.local)


How Do New Top-Level Domains Get Created (And Which Ones Are Coming Soon)?

New top-level domains are created by a process of approval and delegation, which is handled by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are two ways to create a new TLD: 1) you can apply for one through a proposal or 2) you can buy an existing one from someone who no longer wants it. ICANN approves new top level domains based on certain criteria set forth by their board of directors. The first criterion is that there should be at least one applicant for the TLD. If there are multiple applicants, then ICANN will select what they believe will be the best option among all applicants. The second criterion is that the domain name should not be confusingly similar to any other registered domain name. The third criterion is that the proposed TLD must not infringe on intellectual property rights. The fourth criterion is that the proposed TLD cannot primarily serve commercial interests. If the proposed TLD does meet these four criteria, then it enters into a period of pre-delegation before becoming available to register. During this time, registrars can request applications and submit objections before ICANN decides whether or not to approve the application in question. After the pre-delegation period ends, ICANN determines if objections have been raised by registrars during the 30 days allotted, if so they will decide whether or not to approve the new TLD. If no complaints were filed during this time period, then ICANN grants registration rights to the new TLD's owner, who can now set prices and begin accepting registrations for their product/service.