Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?
ISIS recruits new members in no small part via the internet. So why don’t we simply just shut off the internet to ISIS? No, we can’t do that, says obama’s FCC:
“Isn’t there something we can do under existing law to shut those Internet sites down?” Barton asked. “And I know they pop up like weeds, but once they do pop up, shut them down and turn the Internet addresses over to the appropriate law enforcement agencies to try and track them down.”
“We cannot underestimate the challenge,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler responded. “I’m not sure our authority extends to [shut down the websites], but I do think there are specific things we can do.”
Wheeler similarly told Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) that the commission does not have the authority to target the social media accounts of gang leaders in the United States that are contributing to urban violence.
“We do not have jurisdiction over Facebook and all the other edge providers. We do not intend to assert jurisdiction over them,” Wheeler said.
But the chairman said he can use the FCC’s bully pulpit to press tech CEOs on the issue, such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
“I will call Mark Zuckerberg this afternoon to raise the issue you’ve raised and the issue Mr. Barton raised. And I’m sure he is concerned as well and he’ll have some thoughts,” Wheeler said.
Many major social media companies have abuse policies that prohibit and remove accounts that are flagged for promoting terrorism or violence.
Wheeler offered other areas where the commission could take action. He specifically mentioned the rash of vandalism to fiberoptic cables in the California Bay Area.
Local news outlets have reported on cuts to private fiberoptic cables owned by major telecom companies such as AT&T that provide the backbone of Internet service. AT&T has offered a quarter million dollar reward for information about the attacks.
While law enforcement has the authority to investigate the crimes, the FCC maintains a confidential reporting system that requires various telecommunications carriers to report outages around the country.
No, obama won’t shut off the internet to the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa because they have “rights”: