House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., leads a hearing on Capitol Hill.

The Republican party may be ready to take a new position on Internet freedom, according to a document obtained by Whispers.

California Rep. Darrell Issa's proposal calls for the Republican party to take a stance on the Internet that limits the role of government and allows Americans to "participate where and how they choose on the Internet."

According to sources familiar with the Republican party platform process, the GOP has been increasingly discussing Internet freedom, and could be ready to officially roll out its stance later this month at the Republican convention.

[Photos:Online SOPAProtests]

Kirsten Kukowski, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, writes in an E-mail that Issa's is "one submission of many on the subject."

But don't expect another showdown between Issa, who favors a lighthanded approach to Internet legislation and Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, who introduced the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill that spurred widespread Internet blackouts and protests earlier this year.

Kim Smith, Lamar Smith's press secretary, tells Whispers that the Congressman "did not submit any language pertaining to the Internet for the GOP platform."

[Four ThingsAmericansHave Learned From the SOPAFight]

Sources familiar with ongoing discussions say they are "hopeful" that Issa's proposal will make it into the final party platform, and that "conversations that have occurred [on Internet freedom] have been well received" and that the Republicans hope "not to over-regulate the Internet."

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Leaked: The GOP's Proposed New Position On Internet Freedom