ICYMI: Sen. Cruz and Rep. Duffy Lead Efforts to Preserve the Internet
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) on Wednesday introduced the Protecting Internet Freedom Act, which would prevent the Obama administration from relinquishing oversight of the Internet to authoritarian regimes.
Washington Times: Ted Cruz Proposes Bill to Keep U.S. From Giving Up Internet Governance Role
Internet legislation proposed Wednesday in the Senate would prohibit the U.S. government from relinquishing its role with respect to overseeing the web’s domain name system, or DNS, unless explicitly authorized by Congress…The Texas Republican has been among the most vocal voices in Congress with regards to preventing the NTIA’s Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions from expiring, and urged the Government Accountability Office last September “to determine whether the agency has the legal authority to conduct such a transfer to a nongovernmental entity without congressional approval.”
Politico: Hill Republicans Slam Internet Oversight Plan
The NTIA announced Thursday it will go ahead with the plan to have ICANN assume the U.S. government’s oversight role over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or the technical side of the domain name system. Unsurprisingly, that announcement rubbed some Hill Republicans the wrong way, including Sens. Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and James Lankford. Along with Rep. Sean Duffy, they are pushing a new bill — the Protect Internet Freedom Act — to prevent that handover and said Thursday’s announcement “is a clear indication that [the Obama administration] has flagrantly violated federal law.”
The Right Scoop: Obama Is About to Give Away the Internet and Ted Cruz Is Fighting Back to Stop Him
Obama is about to hand over the oversight of the Internet, specifically ICANN, from our Commerce department to an international body that represents 160 countries that will give these foreign governments much more influence over the Internet. As Cruz points out, by doing this we can no longer protect the Internet from “authoritarian regimes that view the Internet as a way to increase their influence and suppress freedom of speech.”
Morning Consult: GOP Bill Would Stall Internet Governance Transition
The U.S. would be prohibited from giving up its control over the body that governs internet domain names without direct approval from Congress under legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.). “The Obama administration is months away from deciding whether the United States Government will continue to provide oversight over core functions of the Internet and protect it from authoritarian regimes that view the Internet as a way to increase their influence and suppress freedom of speech,” Cruz said today in a statement. “This issue threatens not only our personal liberties, but also our national security.”
Fox News: Obama Administration Backs Plan to Relinquish Internet Control
The Obama administration is getting behind a plan that would have the U.S. government relinquish its last bit of control over the Internet – a move Republican lawmakers are fighting tooth-and-nail…On Wednesday, Republican Texas Sen. Cruz and Republican Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy introduced legislation to prevent the transfer of functions related to the Internet Domain Name System unless specifically authorized by Congress. The Protecting Internet Freedom Act also aims to ensure that the U.S. maintains sole ownership of the .gov and .mil top-level domains.
World Net Daily: Cruz Fights Obama Plan to Give Away Internet
President Obama’s plan to turn over control of the Internet to an international organization that could curb freedom of speech is facing a new obstacle with the introduction on Wednesday of a bill. The Protecting Internet Freedom Act, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., “would ensure the continued protection of Internet freedom by prohibiting the National Telecommunications and Information Administration from allowing the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions contract to expire, unless specifically authorized by Congress.”
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