Senate Panel Approves Internet Freedom Resolution

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution calling on the United States to prevent the United Nations from having a greater role in governing the Internet.

The nonbinding resolution, which mirrors one passed by the House in August, instructs Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pursue a policy that "clearly articulates the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control."

American officials fear that international telecommunications treaty negotiations later this year could be used to shift Internet governance away from its current decentralized form, which includes many non-governmental organizations.