Evangelical ministries will be first to go when internet is handed over, evangelist says

Jardine Malado Friday, September 02, 2016

Evangelist Perry Stone warned on Friday that conservative evangelical ministries could be the first group to be blocked when the U.S. relinquishes control over the internet.

"One of the last things Obama will do before leaving office is to basically turn the Intenet [sic] over to the Globalists," said Stone on a Facebook post.

Screen capture of Perry Stone hosting Manna Fest | Youtube/Perry Stone

"The first groups to 'go away' or be blocked will be conservative evangelical ministries and also conservative blogs that expose the secret and hidden agendas of leaders, or make stands in agreement with the Bible," he continued.

Stone voiced his concerns regarding online freedom of speech. He claimed that many other groups shared the same sentiments. Stone also mentioned coming across a document discussing plans for martial law in America.

"This could well be the conclusion of Internet freedom of speech for many. Some will say this is not as big a deal, however, several organizations are very concerned and believe this is the first step in controlling the speech of Americans," he added.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is responsible for managing the Domain Name System through the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

The U.S. announced plans to turn over the system's control to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global organization that manages IANA, after the contract between the ICANN and the government expires on Sept. 30.

Businesses and civil-society leaders are worried that the responsibility will actually be turned over to the U.N. There are concerns that U.N. member states like China and Iran would be allowed to extend their influence on policies regarding free speech.

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Sean Duffy introduced the Protecting Internet Freedom Act to prevent the turnover of the internet to a global organization. The bill seeks to prevent the expiration of the contract between the NTIA and IANA without Congress approval.