Earlier this year Icann embarked on a reform program that led it to shed links with rank-and-file net users and attempt to get more solid backing by other internet groups.
At the same time Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has moved to toughen up anti-piracy legislation to include the ability to remove persistent file-sharers from the net.
The panel concluded that it was possible by looking at the net address of visitors or by simply asking them if they were French and then posting a file called a "cookie" on their computer so Yahoo could spot them next time they visited.