<div dir="ltr"><h1 style="margin-bottom:0px"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8807/internet-governance">CRISIS: Internet to Have Global Governance <span class="gmail-aBn"><span class="gmail-aQJ">October 1</span></span>. Call Congress!</a><br>
<span style="font-size:85%">Better Censorship for Tyrants</span></h1>
<p style="margin:0px">by <b>Judith Bergman</b> • August 29, 2016 at 6:00 am</p><p style="margin:0px">Gatestone Institute<br></p>
<ul style="list-style-type:square;border-bottom:medium none"><li style="font-size:105%;font-family:palatino,georgia,times new roman,times,serif;color:rgb(218,0,38)"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">The U.S. announced its plan to pass the oversight of the agency to a global governance model on <span class="gmail-aBn" tabindex="0"><span class="gmail-aQJ">October 1, 2016</span></span>.
The Obama Administration says that the transition will have no
practical effects on the internet's functioning or its users, and even
considers the move necessary in order to maintain international support
for the internet and to prevent a fracturing of its governance. Oh
really?</p></li><li style="font-size:105%;font-family:palatino,georgia,times new roman,times,serif;color:rgb(218,0,38)"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">The
absence of the U.S. in overseeing the governance of the internet could
spell the end of the current era of free speech on the internet, as well
as free enterprise.</p></li><li style="font-size:105%;font-family:palatino,georgia,times new roman,times,serif;color:rgb(218,0,38)"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">What
guarantees are there that internet governance will not eventually end
up in the hands of those very governments, seeing as they are all very
eager to gain control of it? None. The Geneva Declaration of Principles
makes clear that the UN, run by a majority of authoritarian governments,
wants a decisive role for governments in internet governance.</p></li><li style="font-size:105%;font-family:palatino,georgia,times new roman,times,serif;color:rgb(218,0,38)"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Civil
society groups and activists are calling on Congress to sue the Obama
Administration -- perhaps at least to postpone the date until more
Americans are aware of the plan. It is not too late.</p></li></ul>
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<img style="margin-right: 0px;" src="https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/pics/large/1821.jpg" class="gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex="0" height="233" width="359">
</div><p style="padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 6px">Very soon, on <span class="gmail-aBn" tabindex="0"><span class="gmail-aQJ">October 1, 2016</span></span>,
much of the internet's governance will shift from the US National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) authority to a
nonprofit multi-stakeholder entity, the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers, also known by its acronym ICANN.</p><p style="padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 6px">Until
now, NTIA has been responsible for key internet domain name functions,
such as the coordination of the DNS (Domain Name System) root, IP
addresses, and other internet protocol resources. But in March 2014, the
U.S. announced its plan to let its contract with ICANN to operate key
domain name functions expire in September 2015, passing the oversight of
the agency to a global governance model. The expiration was
subsequently delayed until <span class="gmail-aBn" tabindex="0"><span class="gmail-aQJ">October 1, 2016</span></span>.</p></div>