Who governs the Internet?

No one governs the Internet, but they have bodies which are maintaining the Internet.


Internet Society (ISOC) - It is a voluntary organization which promotes global information exchange through Internet.


Internet Corporation for Assigning Numbers and Names (ICANN) - It is an International self-governing bodies not a government agency. It was being established to represent a wider range of countries and interests. It begins to address emerging public policy issues in the E-Commerce I period.

The bodies that are maintaining the Internet:

1. Internet Architecture Board (IAB) - a group of volunteers invited by ISOC to come out with standards and allocate resources, such as addresses. It is divided into 2 groups, which are Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Internet Research Task Force (IRTF). IETF develops and maintains the Internet communication protocols. It addresses the problems and coordinates new services. Working groups are appointed to define the standards and coordinates all the activities. IRTF research on the long-term research problems which will be critical in 5 or 10 years.
2. Internet Network Information Center (InterNic) - It is a project sponsored by NSF and is conducted by AT&T and Network Solutions. Various registry services needed for the Internet to operate effectively is provided by InterNic.
3. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - The laboratory for Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology manage the W3C. It is a joint initiative between MIT, CERN and INRIA. It is forms to develop standards for the evolution of the web.

Refence:
http://www.mkatoh.net/who-governs-the-internet