In a nonbinding resolution expected to pass the House committee on Wednesday, the lawmakers want the US delegation to an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference in Dubai later this year to oppose expansion of the ITU’s governance of the internet. The ITU is proposing to expand its mandate over internet governance, including giving the UN body more control over information security, data privacy, and technical standards.
The resolution “expresses the sense of Congress that the internet should remain free from international regulation and that the US should continue its commitment to the current ‘multi-stakeholder’ model of governance. This concurrent resolution would reject international proposals, expected to be discussed at the December World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, to treat the Internet like an old-fashioned telephone service.”
During congressional hearings last month, internet pioneer Vint Cerf warned that the ITU’s effort to expand regulation of the internet poses a significant risk to the web’s future.
“There is a strong possibility that this December the ITU will significantly amend the International Telecommunication Regulations – a multilateral treaty last revised in 1988 – in a way that authorizes increased ITU and member state control over the Internet. These proposals, if implemented, would change the foundational structure of the internet that has historically led to unprecedented worldwide innovation and economic growth”, Cerf told Congress.