Sen. Cruz Praises Thune, Grassley, Goodlatte, Upton for Efforts to Preserve Internet Freedom

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today issued the following statement after the chairmen of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees in both the Senate and House raised numerous concerns about the Obama administration’s plans to end U.S. government oversight of the Internet. The chairmen detailed their concerns this afternoon in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

“I would like to thank Chairman Thune, Chairman Grassley, Chairman Upton, and Chairman Goodlatte for their leadership on this issue and their efforts to protect freedom and free speech on the Internet,” said Sen. Cruz. “If Congress fails to act by September 30, the Obama administration intends to give away control of the Internet to an international body akin to the United Nations, causing irreparable damage not only to our nation, but to free speech across the world. I am grateful for my colleagues’ attention to this issue and pleased to work with them to prevent the administration from transferring the IANA functions contract on October 1, 2016.”

Earlier today, Sen. Cruz spoke 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). Next week on Wednesday, September 14, Cruz, chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts, will convene a hearing titled ‘Protecting Internet Freedom: Implications of Ending U.S. Oversight of the Internet.’ The hearing will investigate the possible dangers of the Obama administration’s proposal to relinquish oversight of the Internet.

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