In a relatively rare showing of bipartisan unanimity, the House Energy and Commerce Commission passed a resolution urging President Barack Obama to resist international regulation of the internet.
Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) introduced the resolution, which garnered the support of key committee leaders, including full committee and communications subcommittee chairs Fred Upton (R-MI) and Greg Walden (R-OR), as well as their ranking member counterparts Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
The committee stated, “H.Con.Res. 127 expresses the sense of Congress that the Internet should remain free from international regulation and that the United States should continue its commitment to the current “multi-stakeholder” model of governance.”
The idea is to “…reject international proposals, expected to be discussed at the December World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, to treat the Internet like an old-fashioned telephone service.”
Yep. There’re a bunch of countries hanging around the U.N. that would just love to be the gate keeper of the Internet. Look at how the Internet has helped dissidents in so many countries communicate not only with each other, but with the rest of the world, even as the local governments put a lid on free and open communication. Ask Google and Yahoo what it’s like to be doing business in China. Nope, no international control. Keep it free, open, and democratic (that’s with a little “d”).
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