Tel-Chai Nation

The effort in Congress to stop the ICANN transfer may not have succeeded, but 4 states starting with Texas are now joining the battle for keeping the internet free and safe, and have filed a lawsuit:

Three conservative states are suing the Obama administration in an attempt to block the U.S. government from ceding oversight of some of the internet’s core systems.

The attorneys general of Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona on Thursday asked a federal court in Galveston, Texas, to keep the Commerce Department from relinquishing oversight of ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

The internet relies on the “domain name” system. That includes directories helping computers on the network send data. ICANN has overseen the directories since 1998.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and others opposed the transition, which was approved by Congress in a temporary spending bill keeping the government running. The lawsuit says ceding control of ICANN violates the Property Clause of U.S. Constitution, which restricts giving away government property.

I wish Texas and the others good luck with this suit, and it's good they're concerned, because local security is just as important as national, and they have every right to be concerned on those grounds too.

Labels: communications, political corruption, United States