Ted Cruz Raises Constitutional Objections To The U.S. Giving Up Internet Governance

Republicans want Congress to decide if the Obama administration can transfer its oversight of internet authority to an international group.

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In the political contest to decide who will control the internet's foundational architecture, Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday introduced a new referee: the U.S. Constitution.

Joined by Republican congressional leaders in the House and Senate, Cruz wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office opposing the Obama Administration's plans to transfer oversight power of the web's domain name system to an international, multi-stakeholder group – on constitutional grounds.

For nearly 30 years that oversight power rested with the Department of Commerce. In partnership with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) — the nonprofit institution that manages the technical infrastructure of the internet — the department has maintained a stewardship role over the web's domain names and addresses. This role, however, was to be transferred to a global, non-governmental group under ICANN. But last year, when the Commerce Department announced that the transition would begin, concerned lawmakers raised fears that without American oversight, antagonistic foreign governments like China, Russia, and Iran would seek to influence control over the internet.

Now, Cruz and his allies have put forth a new argument: that the Obama administration lacks the constitutional authority to transfer this oversight power. In the letter, released Monday and sent to the Government Accountability Office, Cruz, along with Sen­ate Ju­di­ciary Com­mit­tee Chair­man Chuck Grass­ley, House Ju­di­ciary Com­mit­tee Chair­man Bob Good­latte, and Rep. Dar­rell Issa ar­gued that the transition may vi­ol­ate the Con­sti­tu­tion­ because only Congress has the authority to transfer government property.

"If the contract governing U.S. oversight of the Internet is indeed government property, the Administration's intention to cede control to the 'global stakeholder community' – including nations like Iran, Russia and China that do not value free speech and in fact seek to stifle it – is in violation of the Constitution and should be stopped," Cruz said in a statement.

In the letter, the lawmakers asked the GAO to determine if the transition plan amounts to a transfer of property and if the president has the constitutional authority to follow through with it. If the GAO agrees with Cruz's interpretation, then the decision to give up American control over the internet's technical management would then rest not with the president but with the Republican-controlled Congress.

Charles Young, a spokesperson for the GAO, told BuzzFeed News that the letter is being reviewed but it will take a few weeks before any decisions are made.

ICANN and the Obama administration maintain that the technical management of the internet was designed to exist beyond the control of any particular nation-state. And the transfer of U.S. oversight, they say, is in keeping with the openness of the web, of ensuring access to global networks outside government rule.

ICANN's vice president of strategic programs, Jamie Hedlund, told BuzzFeed News he is confident that the Commerce Department "possesses the requisite authority to transition its stewardship role." In the meantime, he said, the IC­ANN community will continue to de­vel­op pro­pos­als to transition American stewardship.

LINK: U.S. Maintains Control Over Internet Governance For A Bit Longer

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