Ted Cruz has said that the US-ICANN internet deal, which went through Saturday morning, threatens free speech online. Capping a highly politicized debate, the US government on Saturday let go of its remaining grip on the internet, handing control of the net's address book to a non-profit.
Saying free speech in the virtual realm was at stake, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and others had tried to block the transfer. But a federal judge denied on Friday their request for an injunction and the scheduled handoff took place at midnight.
The transfer involved the internet's domain name system, or DNS, which translates the Web addresses you type into your browser, like "cnet.com," into the numerical language that net-connected computers use to communicate. Under a plan that's been in the works for years, the US Department of Commerce shuttled control of the DNS to a nonprofit called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), whose multiple stakeholders include technical experts, as well as representatives of governments and businesses.
Cruz and other critics had argued the transfer could lead to authoritarian countries taking control of the internet and eventually censoring content throughout the world.
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On Wednesday, the attorneys general of Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas filed a lawsuit (PDF) to block the turnover. But a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas denied that request for a temporary restraining order.
ICANN said Saturday that the handoff would ensure an open internet.
See our previous story from a few days ago.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 03 2016, @07:21AM
Yes, so I've heard. The NTIA was to ICANN as the FISA court is to the NSA.