Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee who represents part of Silicon Valley, speaks about the need to preserve a free and open Internet in order for the technological platform to continue to thrive in the decades to come. Recently the Obama Administration announced it intends to finish transitioning responsibility for managing Internet Domain Names to the private sector under a long running contract between the Commerce Department and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based nonprofit group.
Rep. Lofgren said that despite erroneous reports, the decision would preserve and advance the current multi-stakeholder model of global Internet governance during an exchange with Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Strickling was testifying before an April 10, 2014, hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet titled "Should the Department of Commerce Relinquish Direct Oversight Over ICANN?"
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