Rokita Co-Sponsored Legislation Requiring Due Diligence in Internet Domain Transfer Passes House

Press Release

Rep. Todd Rokita today led House colleagues in passing legislation he co-authored, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act:

The DOTCOM Act was introduced in response to a vague plan by the Obama Administration to turnover certain internet control functions to a "multi-stakeholder model." Rokita worked with colleagues to write the legislation because the United States, as the world's vanguard of freedom, has a responsibility to ensure a free internet, as well as to protect its own national interest.

"The internet is the single greatest economic machine created in the last 50 years and perhaps ever, and its full potential is yet to be realized. America's role in its success is a shining example of our American Exceptionalism," said Rokita.

Originally introduced in March as H.R. 4342, the DOTCOM Act was offered as an amendment to the annual defense spending authorization legislation for FY2015.

Co-authored by Rep. John Shimkus and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the DOTCOM Act would prohibit President Obama's Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) from turning over its domain name system oversight responsibilities pending a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress. The NTIA announced in March that it would transfer internet domain control functions without outlining a specific plan, and who would share in the oversight.

The report would include a discussion and analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the change and address the national security concerns raised by relinquishing U.S. oversight. It would also require GAO to provide a definition of term "multistakeholder model' as used by NTIA with respect to Internet policymaking and governance.

Source