Legislative Background on Internet Governance
Recent Action by Congress on Oversight of Internet Protocol Functions
Congress has held nearly 40 hearings since the late 1990s on the Internet domain name system and Internet governance generally. Now, with the Commerce Department’s contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) set to expire in September 2015, the issue of U.S. control over Internet functions has moved to the forefront of the policy debate. House Bill Passage. On May 14, 2013, the House, by a vote of 413 to 0, passed H.R. 1580, stating the Nation’s resolve against regulation of the Internet by intergovernmental bodies and making it “the policy of the United States to preserve…
