The internet is run by an unaccountable private company. This is a problem.
What if instead of organising a football competition every four years, FIFA took on management of the internet? Leaving aside the arrests and bribery allegations, the organisation might look a bit like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the private California company responsible for overseeing the running of the internet. The scary thing about FIFA is that, when things go wrong, no one else has the power to intervene.
It was thought that 30 September 2015 was supposed to be a significant date in internet governance. The US government was going to hand over key responsibilities to the internet community – but that date will be missed, because ICANN's board looks set to oppose plans to make itself more accountable. If ICANN's board can override the consensus of its own community, it casts doubt on the viability of the entire ICANN model, and exposes the flakiness of the way essential internet resources are governed.