ICYMI: Sen. Cruz Continues Fighting to Preserve Internet Freedom Before September 30 Deadline
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivered a speech on the Senate floor outlining the possible dangers of the Obama administration’s radical proposal to relinquish oversight of the Internet to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is scheduled to take effect on October 1. Cruz urged his Senate and House colleagues to take affirmative action to stop the administration’s Internet giveaway, including inserting legislative language into this month’s government funding bill preventing any funds from being used for this dangerous proposal.
Following his speech, Sen. Cruz praised Chairman Thune, Chairman Grassley, Chairman Upton, and Chairman Goodlatte for their added efforts to preserve Internet freedom. The chairmen of the Commerce and Judiciary committees in both the Senate and House detailed numerous concerns about the Obama administration’s plans to end U.S. government oversight of the Internet in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
A summary of news coverage from Sen. Cruz’s latest efforts to protect freedom and free speech on the Internet is below:
Politico: Cruz Slams Obama for ‘Internet Giveaway’
Ted Cruz and other Republicans are barreling toward a September showdown with the White House over its plan to give up oversight of the internet, as the Obama administration tries to rally support from the tech and telecom industries… Cruz is pledging to make the issue his primary focus this month. He’s already launched a website warning about the dangers of the administration’s strategy, complete with a countdown clock against a black background. And he’s scheduled a hearing of the Senate Judiciary oversight subcommittee he chairs next week to “investigate the possible dangers” of the plan.
The Wall Street Journal: GOP Lawmakers Launch Effort to Block Internet Handoff
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a longtime critic of the transfer, gave a lengthy floor speech raising questions about the future safety of the domains used by the federal government. He also contended that the handoff could encourage authoritarian governments to expand censorship on the internet. “Congress should not sit by and let this happen,” Mr. Cruz said Thursday, adding, “To hand over control of the internet, to potentially muzzle everybody on the internet…that ought to frighten everybody.”
RedState: Ted Cruz Leads the Charge in Stopping Obama’s Misguided “Internet Giveaway”
As President Obama tries to end his presidency on the lowest, most destructive note possible, Senator Ted Cruz and House Republicans are planning to fight the president’s attempts to turn over internet oversight to nation’s that have, traditionally, not been icons of free speech… “Today our country faces a threat to the internet as we know it. In 22 short days, if Congress fails to act, the Obama administration intends to give away the internet to an international body akin to the United Nations,” Cruz said in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday… Senator Cruz has even set up a website to bring awareness to the dangers of allowing this to pass, as well as a countdown clock. He plans a hearing with the oversight subcommittee he chairs for next week, in order to examine the aspects of the president’s plan, as well as highlight the risks.
The Hill: Cruz Slams Internet Transition Plan on Senate Floor
…Cruz said President Obama’s decision “poses a significant threat to our freedom,” and that “it will empower countries like Russia, China and Iran to be able to censor speech on the internet.” The administration’s deal with ICANN is up at the end of the month. Instead of renewing the contract, the White House plans to cede oversight of the group to an international governing body…Cruz said on Thursday that he isn’t convinced that an international regulatory body would be free from influences that could lead to internet censorship. The senator also highlighted national security concerns. “Congress has received no insurance from the government to keep dot-gov or dot-mil” domain names, he said, which could facilitate “foreign phishing scams.”
###
