The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday approved S. Con. Res. 50...

advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet today” in response to ITU proposals that seek to change that model. The resolution passed by voice vote. The House passed an almost identical concurrent resolution in early August (CD Aug 3 p10). “Giving the U.N. unprecedented power over Internet governance will open the door for repressive regimes to undermine today’s reality of Internet freedom,” Software & Information Industry Association President Ken Wasch said in a written statement. “Granting this proposal will hurt individuals and the global economy by granting undue power to governments that seek to undermine Internet freedom and international trade. We applaud Sen. Marco Rubio and this bipartisan group of senators for vocalizing these concerns. They join esteemed colleagues in the House and industry groups across the country in urging Administration officials to continue working vigorously in opposition to efforts to enact harmful Internet governance reforms at the World Conference on International Telecommunications this December.” The resolution’s passage “is an important step forward in expressing the sense of Congress that it would be a catastrophic mistake if actions are taken to water down or replace the multi-stakeholder governance process under which the Internet has thrived,” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said. “We pledge our continuing support in working on this effort to ensure restrictions are not placed on the Internet at this critical meeting in December.” After the vote, Rubio, a Florida Republican, told reporters: “I want to be clear that America is on the record ... we don’t want to see sort of any nationally recognized right to government interference of the free flow of information on the Internet.”