WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, The Washington Times’ ‘Tea Time’ column, penned by Judson Phillips, President of Tea Party Nation, outlines the risks of President Obama’s plan to give control of the Internet away to an international organization consisting more than 160 countries. Phillips specifically raises censorship and commerce concerns and affirms the importance of preserving the Internet as we know it.
Read the column in its entirety here. Excerpts are available below:
…It is hard to believe in less than a quarter century, the internet has transformed the world. It has created wealth for many. It has changed the way America does business. It has given birth to political movement and killed political careers. The Internet is without a doubt the greatest tool for advancing freedom since the invention of the printing press.
It is no great shock that President Obama does not like American control of the internet. The internet was an American invention and America shared it with the world. American values of freedom and liberty created the Internet and allowed it to flourish. Now, in one of his last acts, Obama wants to destroy the Internet.
Since the internet became a worldwide phenomenon, repressive regimes have looked for ways to censor the internet. China has what is known as the “Great Firewall of China” to keep out materials the government does not like. When there is unrest in countries, one of the first things dictators do is to shut down the Internet.
Without America and American values controlling the internet, who will control it and what will they do?
Every American should be calling and emailing their senators and members of Congress to tell them no. If Congress does not act by Sept. 30, it will be too late.
And if we allow the internet to be given away to foreign powers that view it as a threat, then to paraphrase President Reagan, we will one day tell our children and grandchildren what it was like when there was a free internet.