Brian Fung | April 17, 2013
When China and Russia last year proposed building a set of rules into a long-standing global-telecommunications regime, critics decried the idea as a way for governments to spy on their citizens. Both chambers of Congress unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution opposing it. Dozens of countries, including the United States, refused to sign the final international treaty.
Now, as part of a broader effort to address Internet regulation, the House Energy and Commerce Committee wants to institutionalize Washington’s position in the talks as official policy. It’s one of those rare moments at which Democrats and Republicans find themselves in alliance based on their respective beliefs, rather than out of political expediency. Democrats see the issue as mainly about civil liberties; for the GOP, it’s about blocking government overreach.
When China and Russia last year proposed building a set of rules into a long-standing global-telecommunications regime, critics decried the idea as a way for governments to spy on their citizens. Both chambers of Congress unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution opposing it. Now, as part of a broader effort to address Internet regulation, the House Energy and Commerce Committee wants to institutionalize Washington’s position in the talks as official policy.
