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This essay aims to discuss the importance, functions and multi-stakeholder structure of ICANN, the most powerful of the institutions responsible for administering resources and standards for the global Internet. Since its inception, ICANN has been the institution in Internet Governance that has provoked the most heated and controversial debates amongst technicians, politicians, activists and academics. As a private organization operating under Californian law, but of global importance, ICANN has not only been criticized for its lack of democracy, accountability and transparency, but also for its privileged relationship with the US government and the limited influence of other countries on its modus operandi. Recently, the wish of some governments to transfer part of ICANN’s functions to a truly intergovernmental organization led to a polarization of the debate around Internet Governance that some regard today as the first sign of a “Digital Cold War.” To draw a clearer picture of ICANN’s current role in the existing Internet Governance ecology, the essay evaluates the role of the US government and its Department of Commerce in ICANN’s history and current situation, and reviews the main points of criticism as well as the various attempts of ICANN to adjust to the demands and needs of its stakeholders.