Regional internet registry faces numerous critics and isn’t out of the legal woods

The African Network Information Center (AFRINIC) last week held elections and announced the appointment of eight directors, which means it has a chance to convene a board for the first time since 2022.

For those who came in late, AFRINIC is one of five Regional Internet Registries, the organizations that delegate and manage IP addresses and autonomous system numbers. AFRINIC serves 54 nations across Africa and the Indian Ocean. The organization has been involved in a complex set of interlocking disputes with a member called Cloud Innovation, which it once tried to strip of a large IPv4 holding the registry feels is being misused, but which Cloud Innovation feels it acquired legitimately and is entitled to retain.

Cloud Innovation filed multiple lawsuits related to that dispute, and they left AFRINIC unable to appoint a CEO or elect board members. The registry has also been unable to perform its core function ...