Professor Geist’s regular Toronto Star Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, HTML backup article, homepage version) examines the controversy over VeriSign’s Site Finder service. The column argues that there has been a general lack of enthusiasm for Internet governance issues but when it finally mattered – the moment VeriSign hit the switch – the Internet community learned how powerless it has become as ICANN and national governments did little to protect the public interest. While VeriSign may eventually drop the service, the column concludes that the Internet community will look back on the day that Internet governance mattered and remember that they didn’t.
The Day Internet Governance Mattered
September 22, 2003
Share this post

Law Bytes
Episode 278: Ben Waldman on Gander Social and the Challenges of Building a Sovereign Social Network
byMichael Geist

August 10, 2026
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Michael Geist on Substack
Recent Posts
The Lessons of 9/11 We Forgot After October 7th
Named to Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers
Be Careful What You Wish For: Why Asking Google Maps to Defy the U.S. on Lake Ontario Would Undermine Canadian Digital Sovereignty
Big Money, Bigger Design Changes: What the Meta Settlement Means for Canada, Bill C-34, and the Age Verification and Privacy Risks That Remain
Unleashing the Trolls: Ontario Court Opens the Door to Liability for Influencers Who Weaponize Their Audiences
