Ted Cruz Proposes Bill To Keep US From Giving Up Internet Governance Role (washingtontimes.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Washington Times: 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 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a division of the Commerce Department, currently oversees control of the DNS, a virtual phonebook of sorts that allows internet users to easily browse the web by allocating domain names to websites the world over. The NITA has long been expected to give up its oversight role to a global multi-stakeholder community, however, prompting lawmakers to unleashed a proposal this week that would assure the U.S. government maintains control unless Congress votes otherwise. The bill, the Protecting Internet Freedom Act, "would prevent the Obama administration from giving the Internet away to a global organization that will allow over 160 foreign governments to have increased influence over the management and operation of the Internet," according to a statement issued Wednesday by the office of the bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Ted Cruz. Specifically, the bill aims to ensure that the NTIA's relationship with the DNS doesn't terminate, lapse, expire or otherwise end up cancelled unless authorized by Congress, while a separate provision would guarantee that the U.S. government's exclusive control over .gov and .mil domains remains intact. In the UK, the controversial Snooper's Charter -- or the Investigatory Powers Bill as it's officially known -- has been passed through the House of Commons by UK MPs.

Comments

He misnamed the bill I think

[nehumanuscrede]

Don't
Undermine
Muricas
Awesome
Surveillance
Systems

Re:Ham-handed

[Anonymous Coward]

And you're almost certainly younger than that. What's that say about you?

Re: Illusion

[Type44Q]

You were able to post which speaks volumes...

Re: Ham-handed

[drinkypoo]

the US is NOT exceptional,

What? That's bollocks. Notably, nobody else invented the internet.

There are freedom loving people the world over

And yet, more people in about every other developed country think that the government should be able to clamp down on free speech online than we do. Maybe they don't love freedom as much as we do.

and to claim you are PROTECTING anybody's freedom by wresting power over things that directly influence their lives in YOUR government they have no vote or say in - is literally the worst kind of double-think.

But that's exactly why these other countries want more power over the internet — specifically so that they can clamp down on dissenting speech!

There can be nothing more ANTI-freedom than the US controlling ANY global resource

Of course there can. We could hand it to the UN, and then the UNSC can control the internet instead of just the USA. Guess what the rest of the USNC thinks about freedom of information. Hint: They are against it.

If you truly believe in freedom - start with it's most foundational principles.

So, we're building another internet, with blackjack and hookers?