Washington — The Obama administration is continuing its efforts to promote universal and uncensored access to the Internet around the world, viewing it as a critical element to modern economies and societies, the State Department’s Alec Ross said January 14.
Ross, who serves as senior adviser for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, told reporters in New York that Clinton has been “very engaged in helping to ensure that there is universal access to an uncensored Internet.” The secretary is scheduled to give a speech on the topic January 21.
Ross argued that access to 21st-century communication tools is a “net good” around the world. “The way in which information flows in the 21st century is increasingly over our global communications networks and our digital networks,” he said.
Ross’ remarks come after the U.S.-based Google Corporation said January 12 that it would stop adhering to Chinese government censorship rules and was considering pulling out of the Chinese market altogether. Google also cited a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” by Chinese hackers, who primarily sought to break into the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
“The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical to any modern economy and society,” Ross said. “The United States has frequently made clear to the Chinese our views on the importance of unrestricted Internet use as well as cybersecurity, and we look to the Chinese government for an explanation.”
In a January 12 statement, Secretary Clinton said Google’s allegations “raise very serious concerns and questions.”
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi commended Google’s decision to end its Chinese-language censorship.
“The announcement that Google will fully review its business operations in China and will no longer tolerate censorship of its search engine should serve as an example to businesses and governments,” Pelosi said January 13.
“The Chinese government operates one of the most sophisticated operations in the world to control the Internet … [and] it is essential that technology companies not assist in efforts that violate human rights or prohibit the free exchange of ideas,” she added.
In his December 10, 2009, remarks to the U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats said China has the world’s largest population of Internet users and can boast “an exceptional platform to support the researchers, engineers, product designers and business leaders of the future.”
Unrestricted access to information “is vital to the types of innovation that spark economic growth,” Hormats said.
“The Internet offers us an unparalleled ability to acquire knowledge if we allow unrestricted access to it,” he said. Echoing President Obama’s November 16, 2009,Shanghai town hall remarks, he added that “freely flowing information allows people to think for themselves and generate new ideas. It also encourages creativity.”
The Obama administration is aware that the Internet comes with potential downsides, such as its use to spread pornography and facilitate the ability of terrorist groups to organize. “We look forward to working with China and the private sector, both here and abroad, to mitigate these risks while maximizing the free flow of information,” Hormats said.
The United States believes that “certain core principles,” such as the freedom of expression as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, apply to everyone around the world. Along with speaking out for those principles, “we believe that commerce should be open and that information should generally be freely accessible,” the under secretary said.
