The United States has transferred its control over the Internet to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The handover was formally completed on Saturday, despite strong protests from a group of Republican politicians. Until the transfer of the control, the US had maintained a hold over the Internet's addressing and naming system.

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ICANN, a non-profit organization, had been handling several Internet-related tasks under contract with the US government. However, now the organization can now act independently. ICANN will be accountable to its international stakeholders, including a governmental advisory committee, telecommunication experts, and a technical committee.

The move was opposed by some US officials and politicians including Senator Ted Cruz. Earlier this week, the attorney generals of Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas claimed that the move amounted to the handover of US government property. They asked a Federal district to block the handover of the Internet to ICANN. However, a judge in Texas declined to grant the requested injunction.

ICANN was created in 1998 and is based in Los Angeles. The organization manages the Domain Name System, among other things. ICANN has been criticized for its opaque working and lack of accountability. The organization has now been restructured to make it accountable to multiple stakeholders including government, industry, academics, and users.

The handover has received mixed reaction. A group of major US companies welcomed the news. However, the group also cautioned that the "new governance arrangement was still unproven." The group comprised Disney, Verizon, and Google among others.