Abstract

While the current scholarly debate on content moderation primarily focuses on the activities of online platforms, it is crucial to recognize the equally important, yet mostly overlooked, infrastructure-level moderation. Internet infrastructure actors, such as the Domain Name System (DNS), play a crucial role in the functioning of the internet and are increasingly receiving demands to moderate user content. Notably, DNS management is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which makes it an attractive target for content monitoring by governments and censorship advocates.

Governmental pressures on ICANN to moderate content exist internally through policy influence within the multistakeholder community and externally through recent EU Regulation. This Article argues that the ICANN should steadfastly focus on the stability of the technical infrastructure and refrain from content moderation. The potential consequences of not adhering to this posture are grave. Without this focus, the DNS could become a powerful tool for suppressing the speech of internet users, including political dissent and minority views.

Even though ICANN sits atop the DNS governance hierarchy, its multistakeholder bureaucracy is complex and intricate. Importantly, governmental representatives, such as the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), often initiate policy parameters within ICANN. This Article explains how ICANN, as the overseer of DNS management, suffers from internal pressures to moderate content through its sophisticated contractual framework.

Moreover, this Article emphasizes that a thorough examination reveals that the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) shifts content moderation practices toward internet infrastructure, including the DNS. This aspect of the DSA, entirely overlooked in existing scholarly literature, has the potential to fundamentally alter how online content is regulated and monitored. The urgency of this shift demands immediate attention.

Link to Full Article:

Internet Infrastructure and Content Moderation in the Shadows