Sen. Cruz: Don’t Mess With The Internet

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today spoke at the Capital Factory in Austin, Texas about the future of the Internet.
 
“Today, with the Internet, anyone can put up a website, get a PayPal account, get FedEx, and you have nationwide distribution,” said Sen. Cruz.  “What an incredible, transformational, innovative shift that has empowered people—all driven by freedom. In Texas, we are fond of saying ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’ The simple message I want to convey, that we should remember, that members of Congress should remember, that policy members should remember, is ‘Don’t mess with the Internet.’ Given the freedom that has enabled this to develop, the worst thing that could happen is letting a whole bunch of politicians come in and regulate every aspect of what you are doing. The reason the Internet has had the dynamism, the opportunity, the freedom, the diversity, is because it hasn’t been plagued by excessive regulation.”
 
In his remarks, Sen. Cruz outlined four principles that should be kept in mind to protect Internet freedom:

• First, we must abandon the idea of further taxing Internet access and sales.
• Second, we should dismiss all plans to give nations hostile to human rights and democracy more influence over Internet policy.
• Third, we must promote growth in the technological sector, a consistent bright spot for the U.S. economy. And one of the biggest regulatory threats to the Internet is net neutrality.
• Fourth, we must recognize that our constitutional rights are digital rights, too.

Sen. Cruz concluded, “I would encourage you the only way to preserve that freedom is to speak out against those in Washington who want to increase their power to regulate and tax where they got no business.”

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