Feb. 13, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement responding to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) CEO Fadi Chehade’s recent comments that “Those who are genuinely committed to the quality of the proposal for the US government, are correct that we should not put deadlines. But those who for their own purposes try to delay the process, should make no mistake that we know that the most powerful tool to kill something is to delay it”:
“Mr. Chehade is correct. The surest way to stop something from happening is to first delay it. And that is exactly what Congress should do, by insisting that the Commerce Department renew the current Internet governance contract for at least two more years. ICANN obviously is very concerned about its so-called ‘window of opportunity,’ so Congress should deny it. What’s the rush?
“To those committed to the freedom that the First Amendment affords through government control over Internet governance, there should be no rush to sacrifice those protections so lightly, and without any Congressional involvement as provided for under the Constitution. The free and open Internet depends on there being a remedy in the event of censorship. Right now, there is Commerce Department control and oversight over the contract with ICANN, judicial remedy and, ultimately, the difficulty of passing legislation through Congress all serve as firewalls against foreign capture of these functions.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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