US will refuse bid to give United Nations control over the internet

The United States has said it will reject any proposals to surrender control of the internet to the United Nations.

In December 2012, the United Nations will hold the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), where it will review and potentially revise the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) treaty.

This treaty hasn't been updated since 1988, but a lot has changed in the world of telecoms in the intervening years. Not only has the internet expanded dramatically but we've seen new technologies like packet switching and mobile roaming.

But some are calling for the treaty to be given more than a quick modernisation. Some nations are calling for control of the internet's technical specifications to be taken away from a select group of non-profit US companies, and handed over to the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

But Terry Kramer, head of the US delegation to the WCIT, doesn't agree. "The United States believes that the existing multi-stakeholder institutions, incorporating industry and civil society, have functioned effectively and will continue to ensure the health and growth of the internet and all of its benefits," he said.

He's talking about institutions like the California-based ICANN -- the International Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, which regulates domain names.

Kramer also said that the current treaty has served the internet -- domestically, and in the international market -- well. "We want to preserve the flexibility contained in the current ITRs, which has helped create the conditions for rapid evolution of telecommunications technologies and markets around the world," he said.

The US is also concerned that the switch could see "greater regulatory burdens being placed on the international telecom sector, or perhaps even extended to the internet sector." Plus, "we will not support any effort to broaden the scope of the ITRs to facilitate any censorship of content or blocking the free flow of information and ideas,"

The ITU has not published submissions from any country, but a number of proposals have allegedly been leaked to a site called Wcitleaks.org. According to the site, Russia is one nation that is pushing for control of, at least some of, the internet to be handed over the UN.

A spokesperson for the ITU has told BBC News that any changes to the treaty must have unanimous support, and the agency would block any attempts to put the matter to a vote.