America’s Greatest Invention Just Got Hijacked
Floyd Brown, Chief Political Analyst
Marco Rubio has been busy lately.
Just days after his speech at CPAC, the Senator from Florida – who’s also a perennial Tea Party favorite – appeared at the Washington, D.C. offices of Google(GOOG) to present his wide-ranging reform agenda.
If his agenda passes, Rubio sees a bright future. He believes, “In order to harness the promise of a new era and build another American Century, we will need millions of new middle- and higher-wage jobs. We will face unprecedented global competition for these jobs. It is a competition we can win, but not unless we reform our current polices in Washington.”
Rubio talked about everything from tax reform to wireless spectrum increases, but his most interesting points had to do with the internet. He said he’s afraid that the Obama administration is going to give the internet away to the United Nations (or another international governing body).
Yes, you heard that correctly.
According to Rubio, “Internet freedom is under assault. There are currently 42 nations known to restrict or censor their people’s online access. Many of these nations now wish to take this further by exerting control over the way the internet is governed and regulated internationally.”
Needless to say, international regulation would present a host of problems, the biggest of which is that regulation would strip the medium of free expression. And, as Rubio noted on Monday, “Much of our groundbreaking innovation will take place in the vast, still unexplored realm of digital media, particularly with devices and services related to the internet.”
In short, now is hardly the time to submit the internet to stifling regulation. Plus, as any fan of Al Gore is quick to point out, the internet was invented by America! We can dispute its future, but the past is clear: We developed and birthed this innovation engine.
