Congress Steps In to Protect the Internet

[Commentary] The US Congress has saved the Internet from President Obama.

The White House had planned to end American protection for online freedom next year, but Congress used its power of the purse in the recent omnibus budget bill to nix the plan. That should delay any change at least until 2017. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting elected president on a platform of putting the Internet at risk. Whatever the Administration’s motivations, its officials should be happy that they now cannot deliver on their plan. They can assure other governments they had been looking forward to ending the US role over the Internet, if only Congress hadn’t interfered.

And President Obama should be grateful that despite his best efforts, he no longer risks becoming known as the president who lost the Internet.