Congress Fails To Stop President Obama’s Transfer of Internet; Federal Judge Rejects State Lawsuit by Attorney Generals to Stop Transfer

By Michael Hernandez

GALVESTON, TEXAS—A federal judge on Friday rejected a four-state (Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas) lawsuit filed by State Attorney Generals on Wednesday to stop the transfer of the internet at midnight Friday to the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which manages the internet domain naming system that allows users to locate websites.

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. said that the case lacked enough evidence to convince the court that harm would come from giving up oversight of the nonprofit.

Opponents to the transfer said that this action would jeopardize government websites.

ICANN has been contracted by the Department of Commerce to administer the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority under the watch of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) until midnight on Friday.  Now the nonprofit is released from American oversight.  The lawsuit filed claimed that President Obama must get Congressional approval before “giving away government property.”  The Republican attorneys argued that the move would give authoritarian governments like China, Russia, and Iran more power “to censor  the internet.”

Brian Szoka, president of TechFreedom, said this action gives up “America’s stewardship of the internet.”  Joel Pollack, Breitbart” wrote that President Obama’s actions “end online freedom of expression and enterprise as we know it.”  According to the Trump campaign, “Donald Trump is committed to preserving internet freedom for the American people and citizens all over the world.  The United States should not turn control of the internet over to the United Nations and the international community.”

The transfer had been opposed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas),  Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roy Blunt (R-Mo), Richard Burr (R-NC), Ron Johnson (R-Wis), James Lankford (R-Okla), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jerry Moran (R-Kan), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), Dan Sullivan (R-A.K.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss).

According to American Center for Law and Justice Special Counsel Craig Parshall, “Democrats at both the state and national level have echoed many of these concerns.  For example, former President Bill Clinton has warned that ‘(a) lot of  people who have been trying to take this authority away from the U.S. want to do it for the sole purpose of cracking down on internet freedom and limiting it and having government protect their backsides instead of empower(ing) their people.’

“The issue of internet freedom should unite us Americans—Republicans, Democrats and independent alike.  Partisanship and political gamesmanship have no place when it comes to the internet, basic principles of freedom and the right of individuals in our great nation and across the globe to speak online free from censorship.”

Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel, wrote on his website “This is why we must continue the fight to keep the internet free.  The CEO and President of ICAAN even admitted in a hearing on Capitol Hill that ICAAN is not bound by the First Amendment.

“The internet has continued to be free because of the United States continuing partnership with ICAAN, maintaining control and ensuring that cyberspace is free and secure.

“Our internet is in danger.  In an era in which state-sponsored hackers in Iran, Russia, North Korea, and in other authoritarian regimes are trying to target our elections, our financial information, and our national security, this fight matters.”

A petition (see link:  http://aclj.org/free-speech-2/dont-let-dictators-control-internet-keep-web-free) on the ACLJ website currently has 233,997 signatures asking President Obama and Members of Congress to “Protect Freedom.”

Michael Hernandez, Co-Founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service, founder of History Makers International, is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted by email: [email protected] or by calling (818) 263-9881.

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