Read the letter that 'won the internet-governance battle'

[Bob Crabtree]

The Register has the text of what it says is a previously-unpublished, no-holds-barred letter from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice that was crucial in convincing the EU not to press for implementation of its own proposed new inter-governmental body to oversee the present internet overseer, ICANN.

In the letter, Rice used strong language for a diplomatic missive, to stress how seriously the US administration was taking the issue and how determined it was to retain ICANN in overall charge of the internet. European diplomats privately confessed that the letter had a significant impact on their position.

The result was that the EU never raised its inter-governmental forum again in World Summit meetings, and the end agreement stuck with the US position.

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