Secretary Clinton: The Internet Has Become The World’s Town Square

Secretary Clinton: The Internet Has Become The World’s Town Square
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the stage at George
Washington University today to address ‘Internet Freedom’ and ways that
the U.S. can ensure free internet access around the world. You can watch
a live video of the speech on Facebook here. The announcement is timed
with the measures taken by the Egyptian government to restrict internet
access to citizens during the massive protests against the Mubarak
regime. Much of the organization of the initial protests and rallies in
Egypt took place over Twitter and Facebook over the past few weeks.

Clinton, who previously called on former Egyptian president Mubarak
unblock social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, said that Egypt
did not want the world to watch or witness what was taking place in the
country. She drew similarities to the protests in Iran last year, where
the internet and cellphone access were also shut down by the
government.

Unlike, the situation in Iran, the story ended differently for Egypt.
The internet is an accelerant of the way to start political change, says
Clinton, and there is now a debate of whether the internet is a voice
for surpression or liberation. But with 2 billion people online
worldwide, Clinton says that the internet has become the world’s Town
Square, where people are assembling to connect with each other. And that
presents a challenge, says Clinton. “We need to have a serious
conversation about what rules should exists and not exist and why.” She
adds, “the freedom to assemble and associate is applicable to
cyberspace.”

Clinton explains, “For the U.S. the choice is clear— we place ourselves
on the side of openness. Internet freedom raises tensions like all
freedoms do but the benefits outweigh the costs.”

Others have taken a different approach than the U.S. government, says
Clinton. Some governments that arrest bloggers and limit their access to
the internet may claim to be seeking security but they are taking the
wrong path, she asserted.

The second challenge is protecting both transparency and confidentiality
on the internet, she says. “In addition to being a public space, the
internet is also a channel for private communication and there must be a
way to protect confidential communications.” Clinton particularly
highlights the importance of government communications, calling out
Wikileaks, which she says began with an act of theft, similar to the act
of smuggling papers from a briefcase.

She explains that many of cables released by Wikileaks relate to human
rights issues around the world and it is dangerous work to publish these
diplomatic cables. With this, Wikileaks exposed people to greater
risks. And we did not ask or mandate that companies to shut down support
to Wikileaks, she maintains.

Deleting writing, blocking content and arresting speakers only drives
people with strong ideas to the fringes, where convictions deepen with
challenges, Clinton explains. When it comes to online speech, the U.S.
has chosen to urge are citizens to act with civility and recognize the
power their speech has online.

Speaking specifically to the web, Clinton says that social networking
sites are now becoming a collaborative space for assembly and political
expression. Walls preventing this interaction are far easier to erect
than maintain, she warns. “And these actions incur opportunity costs for
closed freedom of expression. When countries curtail internet freedom,
they place limits on economic future.”

Freedom of expression is part of what fuels innovation in a country,
Clinton says. She highlights China, where internet censorship is high
but economic growth is strong. But she warns that the restrictions will
have economic costs for China in the future.

I urge countries to join us in the bet we have made, which is a bet that
an open internet will lead to stronger countries, she concludes.
Innovation thrives where ideas of all kinds are shared and explored. The
U.S. will continue to promote and internet where people’s rights are
protected, and has found strong partners and organizations to support
this initiative worldwide.

Some have criticized the U.S. for not pouring money into a single
technology, says Clinton, but there’s no technology available to prevent
the surpression of internet access. “There’s no App for that so get
working,” she said.

“This is just the opening act in terms of internet usage. We are playing
for the long game. Progress on this front will be measured in years,
not seconds. Let us remember that internet freedom is about ensuring
that internet remains a space where all kinds of activities can take
place. We want to keep the internet open for the protester using social
media to organize protests, the lawyer who is blogging to expose
corruption, for the small business manager in Kenya using her mobile
phone to chart profits and more.”

Internet freedom is one of the grand challenges of our time, she
concludes. “We enlist your help on behalf of this struggle for human
rights, freedom and dignity.”

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