Tech Giants Petition Congress to Allow Handover of Internet Control to Private Groups

Silicon Valley tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter are petitioning Congress to support a plan for the U.S. government to give up control and regulation of the internet's technical management to the global community, they said in a joint letter dated on Tuesday Reuters reported.

The U.S. Commerce Department has primary oversight and overall responsibility of the internet's management, largely because the internet was invented in the United States. Some Republican lawmakers are making efforts to block the handover of control to private companies, individuals, tech experts and public interest advocates, saying the handover could stifle online freedom by giving voting rights to authoritarian governments.

Tech companies, technical experts and academics contend that the transition is long overdue and an unavoidable necessity to maintain the Internet open and globally oriented, and that the proposed handover includes safeguards against any potential abuse by any one country.

Reuters said that the years-long plan to transfer oversight of the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is scheduled to occur on Oct. 1 unless Congress votes to block the handover. The California-based corporation operates the database for domain names such as .com and .net and their corresponding numeric addresses that allow computers to connect.

In the September 13 letter, a copy of which had been reviewed by Reuters before it was sent, the Luminaries of Silicon Valley said it was "imperative" that Congress does not delay the transition.

"A global, interoperable and stable Internet is essential for our economic and national security, and we remain committed to completing the nearly twenty year transition to the multi stakeholder model that will best serve U.S. interests," the letter said.

Other signatories of the letter include include Amazon, Cloudflare, Yahoo and several technology trade organizations.

Former presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who leads the opposition against the handover, will hold a congressional hearing on Wednesday to review the transition, which he has criticized as a "giveaway of our internet freedom."