IV 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 628 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 19, 2012 Mr. McCaul (for himself and Mr. Langevin) 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 States should preserve, enhance, and increase access to an open, global Internet.

Whereas in a September 12, 2011, letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Permanent Representatives of China, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to the United Nations wrote of their intention to offer a General Assembly resolution calling for an international code of conduct for information security; Whereas this proposed code seeks to establish international legal justification for exclusive government control over Internet resources and rejects the current multi-stakeholder model that has enabled the Internet to flourish, where the private sector, civil society, academia, and individual users played an important role in charting its direction; Whereas countries have obligations to protect human rights, which apply to activity online as well as offline; Whereas the ability to innovate, develop technical capacity, grasp economic opportunities, and promote freedom of expression online is best realized in cooperation with all stakeholders; Whereas the proposed code represents a threat to the free flow of information on the Internet and would diminish the universal right to freedom of expression in favor of government control over content in order to preserve political stability, contrary to international law; Whereas the position of the United States Government is and has been to advocate for the free flow of information, Internet freedom, and multi-stakeholder governance internationally; and Whereas the White House’s May 2011 International Strategy for Cyberspace makes an open, global internet a clear policy priority of the United States: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that if a resolution calling for endorsement of the proposed international code of conduct for information security or a resolution inconsistent with the principles above comes up for a vote in the United Nations General Assembly or other international organization, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations or the United States representative to such other international organization should oppose such a resolution.