Federal Judge Rejects Suit Over U.S. Control of Internet Group

A federal judge has rejected an attempt by three conservative states to block the U.S. government from ceding oversight of some of the internet’s core systems.

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. in Galveston, Texas, denied Friday a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.

They sought to keep the Commerce Department from relinquishing oversight of ICAN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

The internet relies on the domain name system, or DNS. That includes directories helping computers on the network send data. ICAN has overseen the directories since 1998.

Some conservatives opposed ceding oversight, which was approved by Congress as part of a temporary spending bill.

But Hanks ruled that the states suing had failed to provide sufficient evidence that transitioning ICAN oversight would cause harm.