The Republicans in the US are working hard to keep the UN's mitts off
internet governance, with Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., reintroducing
"a nonbinding resolution calling on President Obama to oppose any
efforts by the United Nations to take over governance of the Internet,"
reports Tech Daily Dose.
"It has become increasingly clear that international governmental
organizations, such as the United Nations, have aspirations to become
the epicenter of Internet governance. And I'm going to do everything I
can to make sure this never happens," Bono Mack, the Chairman of the
House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade said in a
statement.
"Americans have always been skeptical about big government power grabs
-- and they have a right to be -- especially when it impacts their daily
lives. Any attempt by the United Nations to take over something that is
so central to our economy is deeply troubling and a threat to American
consumers. It is bad enough that we have to fight to keep the Federal
Communications Commission's hands off the Internet; just imagine having
to convince governments like Iran and China.
"The Internet has grown and thrived precisely because it has not been
subjected to the suffocating effect of the heavy hand of government.
Market-based policies, the free flow of information, and private sector
leadership have allowed the Internet to flourish and become the world's
greatest communication platform. I urge the President and his
Administration to oppose any effort to transfer control of the Internet
to the United Nations or any other international governmental entity."
Bono Mack introduced a similar resolution in the previous congress,
reported Tech Daily Dose. In her resolution, Bono Mack notes her
concerns about some nations using "the internet as a tool of
surveillance to curtail legitimate political discussion and dissent."
However given the recent release of US government cables and other
correspondence through WikiLeaks and the ways in which the US has sought
to find ways to put WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange before the courts
in her country, she could easily have been referring to the US as one
country that seeks to "use the internet as a tool of surveillance to
curtail legitimate political discussion and dissent."
To see the text of House Resolution 57, see bono.house.gov/UploadedFiles/H._Res._57.pdf
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