Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Who are they?

• The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an international nonprofit public-benefit organization established in 1998. Its mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global internet.

Why is ICANN needed?

• To communicate with another entity on the internet, such as a person, organization, or server, a device must use an address represented by a name or number. That address must be unique so computers can locate one another. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers around the world.

What is ICANN responsible for?

• ICANN helps preserve the operational stability of the internet, promote competition, support broad representation of global internet communities, and develop policies relevant to the internet’s mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes. Technically, ICANN also helps coordinate the functions of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).