Quad City Times - Grassley Seeks Reconsideration of Transfer of Internet Authority

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By James Q. Lynch

There's more at stake than his Twitter account, Sen. Chuck Grassley said about asking the Obama administration to reconsider ceding authority over the internet to a multi-national panel.

"If China wanted to censor my Twitter account, they could do it right now," Grassley said with a laugh. The Iowa Republican is an active tweeter with 102,000 followers on the social media network.

Grassley and other members of the House and Senate have asked the Departments of Justice and Commerce to reconsider the transition that is scheduled to occur Oct. 1. The Obama administration has decided to turn over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to multi-national authority.

Grassley is concerned that totalitarian governments -- Russian, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China and, perhaps, North Korea -- would censor what could appear on the internet.

"As you know," Grassley and colleagues wrote, "many in Congress have expressed concerns that this irreversible decisions could result in a less transparent and accountable internet governance regime or provide an opportunity for an enhanced role for authoritarian nation-states in internet governance."

"The internet is to expand discussion and relationships," he told reporters. "We've seen China do a lot of censoring."

Iowans would be unlikely to see an immediate change if the transfer occurs Oct. 1, Grassley said, "but depending on what happens in months or years down the road, they might see a lot of difference. That's why I'm opposing the change."

Grassley was joined in the letter by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

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