US to keep web role

THE US refuses to relinquish its role as the internet’s principal traffic policeman, rejecting calls for a UN body to take over, a top US official said yesterday.

But while the US stuck to its position, other negotiators said there was a growing sense that a compromise had to be reached and that no single country ought to be the ultimate authority over such a vital part of the global economy.

Ambassador David Gross said: “We will not agree to the UN taking over the management of the internet. Some countries want that. We think that’s unacceptable.”