Obama Surrenders Control of the Internet

In 2010, I sounded the alarm about the future of the Internet in a contribution for Newsmax entitled: “Obama Surrendering Internet to Foreign Powers.”

In that article I warned: “his administration, through the Department of Commerce, agreed to relinquish some control over IANA and their governance. The Obama administration has agreed to give greater representation to foreign companies and countries on IANA.

The key to the control America has over the Internet is through the management of the Domain Name System (DNS) and the giant servers that service the Internet.

Domain names are managed through an entity named IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. The IANA, which operates on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is responsible for the global coordination of the DNS, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources.

In short, without an IP Address or other essential Internet protocols, a person or entity would not have access to the Internet.

In June of this year, ICANN announced that its intention now is to hand over the reins to a “multistakeholder” group.

In response to this surrender, in June Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Congressman Duffy, R-Wis., introduced “The Protecting Internet Freedom Act” to stop the unilateral giving away of America’s control of the Internet.

Cruz warns: “The Obama administration is months away from deciding whether the United States Government will continue to provide oversight over core functions of the Internet and protect it from authoritarian regimes that view the Internet as a way to increase their influence and suppress freedom of speech,” Cruz said in a statement. “This issue threatens not only our personal liberties, but also our national security. We must act affirmatively to protect the Internet and the amazing engine for economic growth and opportunity the Internet has become, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.”
 

Obama’s actions amount to one small step for internationalism and one giant leap for surrendering America's control over an invention we have every right and responsibility to control and manage.

What better country to protect the Internet than the United States?

We invented it, and we paid for the research and implementation that made it possible. We are the freest, most tolerant nation on earth, we believe in the fundamental right of free speech, and we practice a free market of commerce and ideas.

America has always been against censorship and has shared its invention with the world without fee or unreasonable or arbitrary restriction. The user fee to operate on the Internet is not one paid to the U.S. government; a consumer pays it to private Internet companies, who provide access to the Internet through servers for their subscribers.

The Obama administration's actions will set in motion a slow and complete takeover of the Internet by the United Nations or some other equally U.S.-hostile and unfriendly international body. And once it is gone, it will be gone forever.

As far as I am concerned, America is still the last best hope for a more peaceful and prosperous world and our president should not be looking for ways to weaken us. Rather, his job is to work to strengthen us and protect our nation's greatest asset our people's creativity and ingenuity.

We need all candidates standing for federal office to pledge that they will protect the Internet from foreign control and will insure America’s interest in it remains as is.
 

Bradley A. Blakeman served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001-04. He is currently a professor of politics and public policy at Georgetown University and a frequent contributor to Fox News Opinion. Read more reports from Bradley Blakeman — Click Here Now.