Legislation that would make it official U.S. policy to promote a global Internet “free from government control” could restrict the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from using its authority and prevent law enforcement agencies from taking action against cybercriminals, some critics have said.

Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee objected to the bill during a hearing to amend it Wednesday, after some digital rights groups also raised concerns this week.

Supporters of the bill said it’s an attempt to send a clear signal to other countries that the U.S. opposes a takeover of Internet governance by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union, but critics questioned if the legislation was a back-handed effort to limit the authority of the FCC.

The bill, similar to a sense-of-Congress resolution that passed last year before the ITU’s World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), allows lawmakers to again question the FCC‘s net neutrality rules and limit the agency’s authority in a coming transition to all-IP networks by telecom carriers, said Representative Doris Matsui, a California Democrat.

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