Never the twain shall meet? ICANN not immune

Thanks as ever to the Register for regular updates on complaints to the EC Commission about the conduct of ICANN. A complaint has been made that the 2005 contract settling a long running dispute between ICANN and Verisign (particularly regarding ".com" and ".net") is in breach of articles 81 and 82 EC Treaty. Broadly, these prohibit anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position. Similar complaints have been made by different bodies (but at the same time..) to the Department of Justice in the US.

Given that, post WSIS, at least the official line was the the US/private sector model would continue, this is a timely reminder that even those who run the internet are not immune from challenge. I know that scholars, particularly at Strathclyde University, have been working for some time on competition law issues posed by ICANN. However, it will be interesting to see this in reality - and to note where the balance of power will be seen to lie.