As Internet use expands worldwide, the US said it will give other governments and the private sector a greater oversight role over Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, whose decisions affect how computers relay traffic such as e-mail and Twitter posts.

The move comes after European regulators have said the US could wield too much influence over a system used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Those critics have complained, among other things, about the slow rollout of Internet addresses in languages other than English.