US Prepping to Surrender Internet Control

The federal government will surrender U.S. control of the internet to international authorities.

The Washington Examiner reports that the Department of Commerce will "finalize" the transition on Oct. 1.

The upshot: the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority which translates numerical addresses into a readable language shift from U.S. control.

It will be run by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which the Examiner describes as a "multi-stake holder body that includes countries like China and Russia."

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration looks at the move as "necessary to maintain international support for the internet and prevent a fracturing of its governance."

But Sen. Ted Cruz and advocacy groups including the Americans for Tax Reform and Heritage Action oppose the transfer, saying the agency could be used by "totalitarian governments" to trigger a global shutdown of the Web, the Examiner says.

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