US tech firms urge Congress to allow Internet domain changeover

Washington

MAJOR technology companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter are urging Congress to support a plan for the US government to cede control of the Internet's technical management to the global community, they said in a joint letter dated on Tuesday.

The US Commerce Department has primary oversight of the Internet's management, largely because it was invented in the US. Some Republican lawmakers are trying to block the handover to global stakeholders, which include businesses, tech experts and public interest advocates, saying it could stifle online freedom by giving voting rights to authoritarian governments.