IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1775 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 17, 2010 Mrs. Bono Mack submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United Nations and other international governmental organizations shall not be allowed to exercise control over the Internet.

Whereas market-based policies and private sector leadership have allowed the Internet the flexibility to evolve; Whereas given the importance of the Internet to the global economy, it is essential that the underlying technical infrastructure of the Internet remain stable and secure; Whereas the developing world deserves the access to knowledge, services, commerce, and communication, the accompanying benefits to economic development, education, health care, and the informed discussion that is the bedrock of democratic self-government that the Internet provides; Whereas the explosive and hugely beneficial growth of the Internet did not result from increased government involvement but from the opening of the Internet to commerce and private sector innovation; Whereas some nations that advocate radical change in the structure of Internet governance censor the information available to their citizens through the Internet and use the Internet as a tool of surveillance to curtail legitimate political discussion and dissent, and other nations operate telecommunications systems as state-controlled monopolies or highly-regulated and highly-taxed entities; Whereas some nations in support of transferring Internet governance to an entity affiliated with the United Nations, or another international governmental entity, might seek to have such an entity endorse national policies that block access to information, stifle political dissent, and maintain outmoded communications structures; and Whereas the structure and control of Internet governance has profound implications for homeland security, competition and trade, democratization, free expression, access to information, privacy, and the protection of intellectual property, and the threat of some nations to take unilateral actions that would fracture the root zone file would result in a less functional Internet with diminished benefits for all people: Now, therefore be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)calls on the President to continue to oppose any effort to transfer control of the Internet to the United Nations or any other international governmental entity; and (2)calls on the President to— (A)recognize the need for, and pursue a continuing and constructive dialogue with the international community on, the future of Internet governance; and (B)advance the values of a free Internet in the broader trade and diplomatic conversations of the United States.