SIIA commends today’s unanimous, bipartisan committee passage of a House Resolution (H. Con. Res. 127) opposing efforts to bring the Internet under unnecessary international governmental control.
We applaud the House Energy and Commerce Committee for defending the Web from control by international bodies that could threaten today’s reality of Internet freedom. Expanding U.N. control over the Internet could give undue power to governments that seek to undermine Internet freedom and international trade. We need a global Internet free from unnecessary international governmental control.
Last year, Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan proposed a U.N. code of conduct stating that policy authority for Internet-related public issues is the sovereign right of states. While many government agencies, especially law enforcement and national security departments, would agree that their jurisdiction extends to actions on the internet, the real worry is how governments and international agencies that are hostile to Internet freedom could interpret and apply these broad principles. The proposed code of conduct could be used to limit the ability of individuals and firms to exchange legitimate Internet traffic across borders and create significant digital trade barriers.
All countries have benefited from the open, transparent nature of the Internet, and will continue to do so under the current multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance.
Ken Wasch is President of SIIA.