[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRESS MUST ACT AFFIRMATIVELY TO PROTECT THE INTERNET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, unless the Congress acts 
affirmatively by the end of next week, the Obama administration will 
turn over the core functions of the Internet to an international body. 
We cannot allow this to happen.
  Look at the consequences. Using domain names, we have control over 
the protection of free speech on the Internet. One of the real positive 
things of the development of this type of technology over the last 45 
or 50 years has been that people have been able to express themselves 
the way they want to on the Internet and be able to get a huge 
worldwide audience. Now, I recognize that there is no truth meter on 
the Internet, but people who make ridiculous statements on the Internet 
end up getting denigrated in the court of public opinion anyhow.
  Free speech is at stake here, but also the national security of our 
country is at stake. The core functions of the Internet, including 
control over domain names, should not be turned over to countries that 
do not have America's best interests or values at heart, like China or 
Russia or Iran. They have no protections for free speech, they have no 
value for free speech, and they will do what they want to to put 
censorship on the Internet, particularly as a way of controlling their 
own population within their country. If we don't act, that is going to 
be something that happens, and I think we can guarantee it.
  Stopping this move by the Obama administration will also ensure that 
the United States Government would maintain ownership and control over 
the dot-gov and dot-mil domain names. That is necessary to protect our 
national security.
  Just think of what would happen if a hostile power like Iran would be 
able to get control of both the dot-gov and dot-mil domain names. They 
would be easier able to hack, they would be easier able to spread 
around propaganda and disinformation, and unwitting people would think 
that this is coming from the United States Government. How denigrating 
will that be? It will be huge, and I think we all know the answer to 
that.
  Now, who is best able to protect a free and open Internet? It is the 
United States of America, with the protections that we have in our Bill 
of Rights. Those are protections that have made the Internet grow and 
flourish.
  I tell the administration, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The 
Internet ain't broke, but it will become broken if we have countries 
that do not have our values and stick their nose into the governance of 
the core functions of the Internet. It is kind of like a termite. You 
don't see the danger right when the termite starts eating away, but if 
you allow it to start eating away and don't send the exterminator out, 
sooner or later there is going to be a big-time problem. Let's keep the 
termite of hostile powers who don't share our values out of getting 
into the Internet.
  Congress must act affirmatively. We have to stop this from happening, 
and we don't have much time to do it.

                          ____________________