Do you trust foreign governments more than the United States? That is the question before us as President Obama considers sharing control of the Internet.

The Internet is an American invention, one which a large percentage of the world enjoys. But because the entire world uses it, does not mean we should cede control of it to an unpredictable and fickle council of potentially hostile foreign bureaucrats.

China is infamous for its censorship issues, and the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia used cyber attacks to bring down Web sites and government systems to assist the ground assault. Are these the types of countries that would share management of the vital tool that the Internet has become?

Along with climate change, shared Internet management is part of Obama's desire for global governance. But surrendering some or all of our control over the Internet is not in our nation's best interest. And isn't a president's job to protect the United States and do what's best for us, its citizens?
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(Submitted by Scott Stoecker for publication to The Lansing State Journal, DeWitt/Bath Review, Clinton County News, Owosso Independent, Laingsburg Independent, Perry Independent,  & St. Johns/DeWitt Independent on February 8, 2010)

(Published in the Lansing State Journal on February 19, 2010.)