The Internet and 21st Century Statecraft

CDT President Leslie Harris' ABC News column examines two remarkable events in the development of the Internet that took place in January: Google taking a principled stand against Chinese censorship and Secretary of State HIllary Clinton's speech elevating the Net to major foreign policy player.

 

Harris' column looks at the what must happen next, now that the world has been put on notice through Clinton's speech that global Internet freedom is now a major foreign policy objective. Harris writes:

Clinton's speech was just the starting point for a wider discussion about the U.S. government's role in keeping the Internet open, innovative and free. The fight for global Internet freedom will involve a complex calculus of challenges and obstacles. But it is a fight we can't afford to shirk and one we dare not turn our backs on.