Political Quotes

“For over two decades, U.S. oversight of the Internet's domain name system has kept the global Internet free and open. Though dismissed by NTIA as merely a clerical role of assigning and matching domain names with IP addresses, U.S. stewardship of these basic functions has prevented authoritarian governments from censoring content or restricting access to Web sites beyond their borders. That all could change, Mr. Chairman, if the administration's announced intention to relinquish our oversight role to an undefined multistakeholder community is not carefully considered. This isn't a hypothetical concern. Russia and China have already tried to put domain name authority in the hands of the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union, the ITU; and while the administration says it won't accept a proposal that puts the Internet in the hands of another government or government-led entity, there is no guarantee that won't happen after the initial transfers takes place. One thing is for sure: once our authority is gone, it is gone for good. Now, some of my friends across the aisle will tell you, in a few minutes, that this Chamber voted in support of a transition to a multistakeholder model in the past. I voted for that resolution because I didn't--and I still don't--have an objection to the concept of a multistakeholder Internet governance, but that structure must be insulated from government influence.…”