Do you support giving up control of the internet?

Most believe it's likely that China, Russia, and Iran will seek to bring global Internet policy more in line with the sort of restrictive speech regimes that exist in their countries. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Rudy Takala reports in the Washington Examiner,

A Rasmussen survey released on Monday found that most people oppose a move by the United States to globalize control over core functions of the Internet, and expect a handful of governments will try to impose restrictions on speech on the Internet to bring it more in line with censorship policies in their own countries.

Only 17 percent of likely voters support giving up control of the Internet, according to the survey, compared to 66 percent who stood in opposition. That opposition stretched across partisan lines, as 77 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of independents, and 59 percent of Democrats rejected the idea.

Nonetheless, the Obama administration has announced plans to transfer ownership of the Internet Assigned Number Authority, the organization responsible for ensuring people are able to connect to websites and other users on the Internet, to an international agency effective Oct. 1.

The move has sparked fear from congressional critics who point out that the prospective governing board includes more than 100 countries, including Iran, China and Russia. Asked if they believe it's likely those governments will seek to bring global Internet policy more in line with the sort of restrictive speech regimes that exist in their countries, 69 percent of respondents said they view it as "likely" or "very likely," more than double 33 percent who said the same in 2014.

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