House passes unanimous resolution to ban UN regulation of the internet
In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the House unanimously passed a resolution to ban UN regulation of the internet at the hands of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). It states that the US would "continue working to implement the position of the United States on internet governance that clearly articulates the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global internet free from government control." Put forth by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, the same bill got the thumbs up from the Senate earlier this year. Both bills are a show of opposition against a potential change to the telecommunications treaty that could expand control from telecom operators to internet companies like Facebook and Google. The 1988 treaty does indeed need an update, but US and Canada along with several EU nations have expressed a strong desire to limit any new policies from impacting how the web is run. Their efforts have so far been for naught, but Congress is hoping that such a unified stance from the US will help sway the votes that are due to happen later this week in Dubai.
