Internet Freedom in Peril - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
Internet Freedom in Peril
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In another blow to American global leadership, the Obama administration is abdicating control of the Internet. Countries that loathe freedom are gaining more influence over what you’ll be able to find on the web.

The U.S. started the Internet and served as its guardian for many years, guaranteeing that virtually any person or group, no matter how controversial, could add a website to the worldwide network. But on October 1, the Obama administration surrendered U.S. oversight to a multinational organization, ICANN, which stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

ICANN will have sole power to grant web addresses — or deny them, essentially banning sites from the Internet. If a site doesn’t have an address from ICANN, you won’t be able to find it.

Donald Trump is warning that Obama’s policy  threatens our freedom of expression and our national security.

Hillary Clinton is falling in line with Obama, just as she did with the Iran deal. The media are silent, preferring to dwell on green frogs, skittles, birthers and beauty queens.

ICANN answers to a council that includes over 160 countries. The U.S., no longer the referee, has only one vote. Just like China, which blocks tens of thousands of websites inimical to Communist Party control within its borders. And just like Iran, which censors political messages and photos of women not wearing mandatory Islamic dress. The danger is that repressive regimes will outnumber free nations and impose censorship everywhere.

Imagine an internet run like many Middle Eastern countries that punish what they deem to be blasphemy,” warns Senator Ted Cruz (R. Texas).

It could become impossible to get a web address that advocates for gay or women’s rights, displays sexy lingerie, or criticizes Shariah law…

Under the new arrangement, the U.S. loses power. That seems to be the theme of Obama’s overall legacy building — globalization and a reduction in U.S. influence.

Opponents of the Obama giveaway are going to court to reverse it. Last Friday, four states — Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Nevada — failed to get a federal court judge to delay the transfer. But expect more litigation ahead. Challenges to the giveaway will question the constitutionality of Obama handing over U.S. government property without getting Congress’s consent.

The Internet was created by the United States a half century ago as a Defense Department project. Within twenty years its influence had spread worldwide, and then President Bill Clinton established and funded ICANN, to administer the technical side — allocating web addresses, keeping a “yellow pages” of them, and ensuring smooth, unhampered access to websites. ICANN reported to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In recent years, hostile governments have pushed to make ICANN part of the U.N. ICANN executives argue that “fairness” dictates giving all nations an equal role.

Obama warns that keeping U.S. control of the Internet would “embolden authoritarian regimes.” It’s a repeat of the same foolish argument Obama makes that calling out Islamic terrorists will incite more attacks.

Nonsense, says Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “These countries already fail to respect freedom of expression.”

In 2014, when Obama announced the deadline for the 2016 handover, Bill Clinton opposed it: “I just know that a lot of these so-called multi stakeholders are really governments that want to gag people and restrict access to the internet.” Too bad Hillary doesn’t see that.

Disappointing but not surprising from a former Secretary of State who left State’s cybersecurity in shambles. Ceding control to ICANN will put all federal websites, even military and Homeland Security sites, under the thumb of this multinational organization. The only protection is a letter of agreement with ICANN that is not legally enforceable. Good luck with that.

Advocates for cybersecurity, national defense, and First Amendment liberty agree that ceding any control of the Internet to intolerant, anti-democratic nations is a dangerous leap in the dark.

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