As we have noted several times, right-wing groups are falsely claiming that the Obama administration has relinquished control of the Internet to a United Nations-controlled group. In fact, quite the opposite is true: Politico reports that the administration rebuffed calls from Russia and China to give authority to the United Nations-led International Telecommunication Union, and instead completed a sixteen year transition of Internet oversight to a US-backed nonprofit.
Naturally, Obama critics are now alleging that the president did the opposite of what actually occurred and handed over authority to the UN body.
Religious Right leader Jay Sekulow today emailed members of the American Center for Law and Justice to warn that “the President wants to hand over control of the Internet to a multinational group, including corrupt dictatorships in China, Russia, and Iran,” warning that the move could “mean censoring the Church if it reaches out to Islamic lands” and “exposing our own computers to greater risk of fraud and other cybercrimes.”
So there you have it: the Obama administration rejects efforts to relinquish Internet oversight to the UN, and conservative activists decide to attack him anyway by falsely claiming that he did the exact opposite of what he did.
There is simply no excuse for the Obama Administration’s latest move.
The President wants to hand over control of the Internet to a multinational group, including corrupt dictatorships in China, Russia, and Iran.
Why?
China, Russia, and Iran have all signaled they want greater control over the Internet, including control over what we see and write.
Does this mean censoring the Church if it reaches out to Islamic lands?
Does this mean exposing our own computers to greater risk of fraud and other cybercrimes?
America has kept the Internet free for a generation; let’s keep it free. Stand with the ACLJ and stand against the Obama Administration’s latest attack on your liberty.
