Senate Commerce Takes Up House Version of Dotcom Act

The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee had introduced a version of the Dotcom Act identical to one approved unanimously out of the House Communications Subcommittee earlier the week of June 8. The bill provides a framework for congressional oversight of the transition of the Internet domain naming function from US oversight to a multistakeholder model.

The House -- and now Senate -- version had drawn criticism from Democratic Senators, but a deal struck earlier paved the way for a mutual admiration society markup of a bill both sides said would help make the transition while making sure Congress had an oversight role. There seemed to be bipartisan agreement on the Senate side as well, with at least one of the Democratic leaders on board -- Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL), was not one of the co-sponsors.