FW: [IP] Clinton Speech: Internet Freedom (Text)

From Professor Dave Farber's IP list

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From: Dave Farber [mailto:dfarber@me.com]
Sent: Thu 1/21/2010 1:13 PM
To: ip
Subject: [IP] Clinton Speech: Internet Freedom (Text)

>From: "Richard Forno" <rforno@infowarrior.org>
>To: <Undisclosed-recipients:unspecified-domain;>
>Cc: "Dave Farber" <dave@farber.net>
>Date: January 21, 2010 12:53:57 PM EST
>Subject: Clinton Speech: Internet Freedom (Text)
>
>Internet Freedom
>
>The prepared text of U.S. of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 
>Clinton's speech, delivered at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
>
>JANUARY 21, 2010
>
>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/21/internet_freedom
>Thank you, Alberto for that kind introduction. It's a pleasure to be 
>here at the Newseum. This institution is a monument to some of our 
>most precious freedoms, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to 
>discuss how those freedoms apply to the challenges of the 21st 
>century. I'm also delighted to see so many friends and former 
>colleagues.
>
>This is an important speech on an important subject. But before I 
>begin, I want to speak briefly about Haiti. During the last nine days, 
>the people of Haiti and the people of the world have joined together 
>to deal with a tragedy of staggering proportions. Our hemisphere has 
>seen its share of hardship, but there are few precedents for the 
>situation we're facing in Port-au-Prince.  Communication networks have 
>played a critical role in our response. In the hours after the quake, 
>we worked with partners in the private sector to set up the text 
>"HAITI" campaign so that mobile phone users in the United States could 
>donate to relief efforts via text message.  That initiative has been a 
>showcase for the generosity of the American people and it's raised 
>over $25 million for recovery efforts.
>
>Information networks have also played a critical role on the ground.
>
>The technology community has set up interactive maps to help identify 
>needs and target resources. And on Monday, a seven-year-old girl and 
>two women were pulled from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket by an 
>American search and rescue team after they sent a text message calling 
>for help. These examples are manifestations of a much broader 
>phenomenon.
>
>The spread of information networks is forming a new nervous system for 
>our planet. When something happens in Haiti or Hunan the rest of us 
>learn about it in real time - from real people. And we can respond in 
>real time as well. Americans eager to help in the aftermath of a 
>disaster and the girl trapped in that supermarket are connected in 
>ways that we weren't a generation ago.  That same principle applies to 
>almost all of humanity. As we sit here today, any of you - or any of 
>our children - can take out tools we carry with us every day and 
>transmit this discussion to billions across the world.
>
>In many respects, information has never been so free. There are more 
>ways to spread more ideas to more people than at any moment in 
>history. Even in authoritarian countries, information networks are 
>helping people discover new facts and making governments more 
>accountable.
>
>During his visit to China in November, President Obama held a town 
>hall meeting with an online component to highlight the importance of 
>the internet. In response to a question that was sent in over the 
>internet, he defended the right of people to freely access 
>information, and said that the more freely information flows, the 
>stronger societies become. He spoke about how access to information 
>helps citizens to hold their governments accountable, generates new 
>ideas, and encourages creativity. The United States' belief in that 
>truth is what brings me here today.
>
>But amid this unprecedented surge in connectivity, we must also 
>recognize that these technologies are not an unmitigated blessing. 
>These tools are also being exploited to undermine human progress and 
>political rights. Just as steel can be used to build hospitals or 
>machine guns and nuclear energy can power a city or destroy it, modern 
>information networks and the technologies they support can be 
>harnessed for good or ill. The same networks that help organize 
>movements for freedom also enable al Qaeda to spew hatred and incite 
>violence against the innocent. And technologies with the potential to 
>open up access to government and promote transparency can also be 
>hijacked by governments to crush dissent and deny human rights.
>
>In the last year, we've seen a spike in threats to the free flow of 
>information. China, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan have stepped up their 
>censorship of the internet. In Vietnam, access to popular social 
>networking sites has suddenly disappeared. And last Friday in Egypt, 
>30 bloggers and activists were detained. One member of this group, 
>Bassem Samir - who is thankfully no longer in prison - is with us 
>today. So while it is clear that the spread of these technologies is 
>transforming our world, it is still unclear how that transformation 
>will affect the human rights and welfare of much of the world's 
>population.
>
>SYNCING PROGRESS WITH PRINCIPLES
>
>On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for 
>freedom and progress. But the United States does. We stand for a 
>single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge 
>and ideas. And we recognize that the world's information 
>infrastructure will become what we and others make of it.
>
>This challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the 
>free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic. The 
>words of the First Amendment to the Constitution are carved in 50 tons 
>of Tennessee marble on the front of this building. And every 
>generation of Americans has worked to protect the values etched in 
>that stone.
>
>Franklin Roosevelt built on these ideas when he delivered his Four 
>Freedoms speech in 1941. At the time, Americans faced a cavalcade of 
>crises and a crisis of confidence. But the vision of a world in which 
>all people enjoyed freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom 
>from want, and freedom from fear transcended the trouble of his day.
>
>Years later, one of my heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt, worked to have these 
>principles adopted as a cornerstone of the Universal Declaration of 
>Human Rights. They have provided a lodestar to every succeeding 
>generation - guiding us, galvanizing us, and enabling us to move 
>forward in the face of uncertainty.
>
>As technology hurtles forward, we must think back to that legacy. We 
>need to synchronize our technological progress with our principles. In 
>accepting the Nobel Prize, President Obama spoke about the need to 
>build a world in which peace rests on the "inherent rights and dignity 
>of every individual." And in my speech on human rights at Georgetown I 
>talked about how we must find ways to make human rights a reality. 
>Today, we find an urgent need to protect these freedoms on the digital 
>frontiers of the 21st century.
>
>There are many other networks in the world - some aid in the movement 
>of people or resources; and some facilitate exchanges between 
>individuals
>
>with the same work or interests. But the internet is a network that
>
>magnifies the power and potential of all others. And that's why we 
>believe it's critical that its users are assured certain basic freedoms.
>
>FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
>
>First among them is the freedom of expression. This freedom is no 
>longer defined solely by whether citizens can go into the town square 
>and criticize their government without fear of retribution. Blogs, 
>email, social networks, and text messages have opened up new forums 
>for exchanging ideas - and created new targets for censorship.
>
>As I speak to you today, government censors are working furiously to 
>erase my words from the records of history. But history itself has 
>already condemned these tactics. Two months ago, I was in Germany to 
>celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The 
>leaders gathered at that ceremony paid tribute to the courageous men 
>and women on the far side of that barrier who made the case against 
>oppression by circulating small pamphlets called samizdat. These 
>leaflets questioned the claims and intentions of dictatorships in the 
>Eastern Bloc, and many people paid dearly for distributing them. But 
>their words helped pierce the concrete and concertina wire of the Iron 
>Curtain.
>
>The Berlin Wall symbolized a world divided, and it defined an entire 
>era. Today, remnants of that wall sit inside this museum - where they 
>belong. And the new iconic infrastructure of our age is the internet.
>
>Instead of division, it stands for connection. But even as networks 
>spread to nations around the globe, virtual walls are cropping up in 
>place of visible walls.
>
>Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their 
>people from accessing portions of the world's networks. They have 
>expunged words, names and phrases from search engine results. They 
>have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in non-violent 
>political speech. These actions contravene the Universal Declaration 
>on Human Rights, which tells us that all people have the right "to 
>seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and 
>regardless of frontiers." With the spread of these restrictive 
>practices, a new information curtain is descending across much of the 
>world. Beyond this partition, viral videos and blog posts are becoming 
>the samizdat of our day.
>
>As in the dictatorships of the past, governments are targeting 
>independent thinkers who use these tools. In the demonstrations that 
>followed Iran's presidential elections, grainy cell phone footage of a 
>young woman's bloody murder provided a digital indictment of the 
>government's brutality. We've seen reports that when Iranians living 
>overseas posted online criticism of their nation's leaders, their 
>family members in Iran were singled out for retribution. And despite 
>an intense campaign of government intimidation, brave citizen 
>journalists in Iran continue using technology to show the world and 
>their fellow citizens what is happening in their country. In speaking 
>out on behalf of their own human rights the Iranian people have 
>inspired the world.
>
>And their courage is redefining how technology is used to spread truth 
>and expose injustice.
>
>All societies recognize that free expression has its limits. We do not 
>tolerate those who incite others to violence, such as the agents of al 
>Qaeda who are - at this moment - using the internet to promote the 
>mass murder of innocent people. And hate speech that targets 
>individuals on the basis of their ethnicity, gender, or sexual 
>orientation is reprehensible. It is an unfortunate fact that these 
>issues are both growing challenges that the international community 
>must confront together. We must also grapple with the issue of 
>anonymous speech. Those who use the internet to recruit terrorists or 
>distribute stolen intellectual property cannot divorce their online 
>actions from their real world identities. But these challenges must 
>not become an excuse for governments to systematically violate the 
>rights and privacy of those who use the internet for peaceful 
>political purposes.
>
>FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
>
>The freedom of expression may be the most obvious freedom to face 
>challenges with the spread of new technologies, but it is not alone. 
>The freedom of worship usually involves the rights of individuals to 
>commune - or not commune - with their Creator. And that's one channel 
>of communication that does not rely on technology. But the freedom of 
>worship also speaks to the universal right to come together with those 
>who share your values and vision for humanity. In our history, those 
>gatherings often took place in churches, synagogues, temples, and 
>mosques. Today, they may also take place on line.
>
>The internet can help bridge divides between people of different faiths.
>
>As the president said in Cairo, "freedom of religion is central to the 
>ability of people to live together." And as we look for ways to expand 
>dialogue, the internet holds out tremendous promise. We have already 
>begun connecting students in the United States with young people in 
>Muslim communities around the world to discuss global challenges. And 
>we will continue using this tool to foster discussion between 
>individuals in different religious communities.
>
>Some nations, however, have co-opted the internet as a tool to target 
>and silence people of faith. Last year in Saudi Arabia, a man spent 
>months in prison for blogging about Christianity. And a Harvard study 
>found that the Saudi government blocked many web pages about Hinduism, 
>Judaism, Christianity, and even Islam. Countries including Vietnam and 
>China employed similar tactics to restrict access to religious 
>information.
>
>Just as these technologies must not be used to punish peaceful 
>political speech, they must not be used to persecute or silence 
>religious minorities. Prayers will always travel on higher networks. 
>But connection technologies like the internet and social networking 
>sites should enhance individuals' ability to worship as they see fit, 
>come together with people of their own faith, and learn more about the 
>beliefs of others. We must work to advance the freedom of worship 
>online just as we do in other areas of life.
>
>FREEDOM FROM WANT
>
>There are, of course, hundreds of millions of people living without 
>the benefits of these technologies. In our world, talent is 
>distributed universally, but opportunity is not. And we know from long 
>experience that promoting social and economic development in countries 
>where people lack access to knowledge, markets, capital, and 
>opportunity can be frustrating, and sometimes futile work. In this 
>context, the internet can serve as a great equalizer. By providing 
>people with access to knowledge and potential markets, networks can 
>create opportunity where none exists.
>
>Over the last year, I've seen this first hand. In Kenya, where farmers 
>have seen their income grow by as much as 30% since they started using 
>mobile banking technology. In Bangladesh, where more than 300,000 
>people have signed up to learn English on their mobile phones. And in 
>sub-Saharan Africa, where women entrepreneurs use the internet to get 
>access to microcredit loans and connect to global markets. These 
>examples of progress can be replicated in the lives of the billion 
>people at the bottom of the world's economic ladder.  In many cases,
>
>the internet, mobile phones, and other connection technologies can do 
>for economic growth what the green revolution did for agriculture. You 
>can now generate significant yields from very modest inputs. One World 
>Bank study found that in a typical developing country, a 10% increase 
>in the penetration rate for mobile phones led to an almost one percent 
>annual increase in per capita GDP. To put that in perspective, for 
>India, that would translate into almost $10 billion a year.
>
>A connection to global information networks is like an on a ramp to 
>modernity. In the early years of these technologies, many believed 
>they would divide the world between haves and have-nots. That hasn't 
>happened. There are 4 billion cell phones in use today - many are in 
>the hands of market vendors, rickshaw drivers, and others who've 
>historically lacked access to education and opportunity. Information 
>networks have become a great leveler, and we should use them to help 
>lift people out of poverty.
>
>FREEDOM FROM FEAR
>
>We have every reason to be hopeful about what people can accomplish 
>when they leverage communication networks and connection technologies 
>to achieve progress. But some will use global information networks for 
>darker purposes. Violent extremists, criminal cartels, sexual 
>predators, and authoritarian governments all seek to exploit global 
>networks. Just as terrorists have taken advantage of the openness of 
>our society to carry out their plots, violent extremists use the 
>internet to radicalize and intimidate. As we work to advance these 
>freedoms, we must also work against those who use communication 
>networks as tools of disruption and fear.
>
>Governments and citizens must have confidence that the networks at the 
>core of their national security and economic prosperity are safe and 
>resilient. This is about more than petty hackers who deface websites.
>
>Our ability to bank online, use electronic commerce, and safeguard 
>billions of dollars in intellectual property are all at stake if we 
>cannot rely on the security of information networks.
>
>Disruptions in these systems demand a coordinated response by 
>governments, the private sector, and the international community. We 
>need more tools to help law enforcement agencies cooperate across 
>jurisdictions when criminal hackers and organized crime syndicates 
>attack networks for financial gain. The same is true when social ills 
>such as child pornography and the exploitation of trafficked women and 
>girls migrate online. We applaud efforts such as the Council on 
>Europe's Convention on Cybercrime that facilitate international 
>cooperation in prosecuting such offenses.
>
>We have taken steps as a government, and as a Department, to find 
>diplomatic solutions to strengthen global cyber security. Over a half-
>dozen different Bureaus have joined together to work on this issue, 
>and two years ago we created an office to coordinate foreign policy in 
>cyberspace. We have worked to address this challenge at the UN and 
>other multilateral forums and put cyber-security on the world's 
>agenda. And President Obama has appointed a new national cyberspace 
>policy coordinator who will help us work even more closely to ensure 
>that our networks stay free, secure, and reliable.
>
>States, terrorists, and those who would act as their proxies must know 
>that the United States will protect our networks. Those who disrupt 
>the free flow of information in our society, or any other, pose a 
>threat to our economy, our government and our civil society. Countries 
>or individuals that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences 
>and international condemnation. In an interconnected world, an attack 
>on one nation's networks can be an attack on all. By reinforcing that 
>message, we can create norms of behavior among states and encourage 
>respect for the global networked commons.
>
>THE FREEDOM TO CONNECT
>
>The final freedom I want to address today flows from the four I've 
>already mentioned: the freedom to connect - the idea that governments 
>should not prevent people from connecting to the internet, to 
>websites, or to each other. The freedom to connect is like the freedom 
>of assembly in cyber space. It allows individuals to get online, come 
>together, and hopefully cooperate in the name of progress. Once you're 
>on the internet, you don't need to be a tycoon or a rock star to have 
>a huge impact on society.
>
>The largest public response to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai was 
>launched by a 13-year-old boy. He used social networks to organize 
>blood drives and a massive interfaith book of condolence. In Colombia, 
>an unemployed engineer brought together more than 12 million people in 
>190 cities around the world to demonstrate against the FARC terrorist 
>movement. The protests were the largest anti-terrorist demonstrations 
>in history. In the weeks that followed, the FARC saw more 
>demobilizations and desertions than it had during a decade of military 
>action. And in Mexico, a single email from a private citizen who was 
>fed up with drug-related violence snowballed into huge demonstrations 
>in all of the country's 32 states. In Mexico City alone, 150,000 
>people took to the streets in protest. The internet can help humanity 
>push back against those who promote violence and extremism.
>
>In Iran, Moldova, and many other countries, online organizing has been 
>a critical tool for advancing democracy, and enabling citizens to 
>protest suspicious election results. Even in established democracies 
>like the United States, we've seen the power of these tools to change 
>history. Some of you may still remember the 2008 presidential 
>election...
>
>The freedom to connect to these technologies can help transform 
>societies, but it is also critically important to individuals. I 
>recently heard the story of a doctor who had been trying desperately 
>to diagnose his daughter's rare medical condition. After consulting 
>with two dozen specialists, he still didn't have an answer. He finally 
>identified the condition - and a cure - by using an internet search 
>engine. That's one of the reasons why unfettered access to search 
>engine technology is so important.
>
>APPLYING PRINCIPLES TO POLICY
>
>The principles I've outlined today will guide our approach to the 
>issue of internet freedom and the use of these technologies. And I 
>want to speak about how we apply them in practice. The United States 
>is committed to devoting the diplomatic, economic and technological 
>resources necessary to advance these freedoms. We are a nation made up 
>of immigrants from every country and interests that span the globe. 
>Our foreign policy is premised on the idea that no country stands to 
>benefit more when cooperation among peoples and states increases. And 
>no country shoulders a heavier burden when conflict drives nations 
>apart.
>
>We are well placed to seize the opportunities that come with 
>interconnectivity. And as the birthplace for so many of these 
>technologies, we have a responsibility to see them used for good. To 
>do that, we need to develop our capacity for 21st century statecraft.
>
>Realigning our policies and our priorities won't be easy. But 
>adjusting to new technology rarely is. When the telegraph was 
>introduced, it was a source of great anxiety for many in the 
>diplomatic community, where the prospect of receiving daily 
>instructions from Washington was not entirely welcome. But just as our 
>diplomats eventually mastered the telegraph, I have supreme confidence 
>that the world can harness the potential of these new tools as well.
>
>I'm proud that the State Department is already working in more than 40 
>countries to help individuals silenced by oppressive governments. We 
>are making this issue a priority in at the United Nations as well, and 
>included internet freedom as a component in the first resolution we 
>introduced after returning to the UN Human Rights Council.
>
>We are also supporting the development of new tools that enable 
>citizens to exercise their right of free expression by circumventing 
>politically motivated censorship. We are working globally to make sure 
>that those tools get to the people who need them, in local languages, 
>and with the training they need to access the internet safely. The 
>United States has been assisting in these efforts for some time. Both 
>the American people and nations that censor the internet should 
>understand that our government is proud to help promote internet 
>freedom.
>
>We need to put these tools in the hands of people around the world who 
>will use them to advance democracy and human rights, fight climate 
>change and epidemics, build global support for President Obama's goal 
>of a world without nuclear weapons, and encourage sustainable economic 
>development. That's why today I'm announcing that over the next year, 
>we will work with partners in industry, academia, and non-governmental 
>organizations to establish a standing effort that will harness the 
>power of connection technologies and apply them to our diplomatic 
>goals. By relying on mobile phones, mapping applications, and other 
>new tools, we can empower citizens and leverage our traditional 
>diplomacy. We can also address deficiencies in the current market for 
>innovation.
>
>Let me give you one example: let's say I want to create a mobile phone 
>application that would allow people to rate government ministries on 
>their responsiveness, efficiency, and level of corruption. The 
>hardware required to make this idea work is already in the hands of 
>billions of potential users. And the software involved would be 
>relatively inexpensive to develop and deploy. If people took advantage 
>of this tool, it would help us target foreign assistance spending, 
>improve lives, and encourage foreign investment in countries with 
>responsible governments - all good things. However, right now, mobile 
>application developers have no financial incentive to pursue that 
>project on their own and the State Department lacks a mechanism to 
>make it happen. This initiative should help resolve that problem, and 
>provide long-term dividends from modest investments in innovation. 
>We're going to work with experts to find the best structure for this 
>venture, and we'll need the talent and resources of technology 
>companies and non-profit organizations in order to get the best 
>results. So for those of you in this room, consider yourselves invited.
>
>In the meantime, there are companies, individuals, and institutions 
>working on ideas and applications that could advance our diplomatic 
>and development objectives. And the State Department will be launching 
>an innovation competition to give this work an immediate boost. We'll 
>be asking Americans to send us their best ideas for applications and 
>technologies that help to break down language barriers, overcome 
>illiteracy, and connect people to the services and information they 
>need. Microsoft, for example, has already developed a prototype for a 
>digital doctor that could help provide medical care in isolated rural 
>communities. We want to see more ideas like that. And we'll work with 
>the winners of the competition and provide grant to help build their 
>ideas to scale.
>
>PRIVATE SECTOR AND FOREIGN GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY
>
>As we work together with the private sector and foreign governments to 
>deploy the tools of 21st century statecraft, we need to remember our 
>shared responsibility to safeguard the freedoms I've talked about today.
>
>We feel strongly that principles like information freedom aren't just 
>good policy, they're good business for all involved. To use market 
>terminology, a publicly-listed company in Tunisia or Vietnam that 
>operates in an environment of censorship will always trade at a 
>discount relative to an identical firm in a free society. If corporate 
>decision makers don't have access to global sources of news and 
>information, investors will have less confidence in their decisions. 
>Countries that censor news and information must recognize that, from 
>an economic standpoint, there is no distinction between censoring 
>political speech and commercial speech. If businesses in your nation 
>are denied access to either type of information, it will inevitably 
>reduce growth.
>
>Increasingly, U.S. companies are making the issue of information 
>freedom a greater consideration in their business decisions. I hope 
>that their competitors and foreign governments will pay close 
>attention to this trend.
>
>The most recent example of Google's review of its business operations 
>in China has attracted a great deal of interest. We look to Chinese 
>authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the cyber 
>intrusions that led Google to make this announcement. We also look for 
>that investigation and its results to be transparent. The internet has 
>already been a source of tremendous progress in China, and it's great 
>that so many people there are now online. But countries that restrict 
>free access to information or violate the basic rights of internet 
>users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next 
>century. The United States and China have different views on this 
>issue. And we intend to address those differences candidly and 
>consistently.
>
>Ultimately, this issue isn't just about information freedom; it's 
>about what kind of world we're going to inhabit. It's about whether we 
>live on a planet with one internet, one global community, and a common 
>body of knowledge that unites and benefits us all. Or a fragmented 
>planet in which access to information and opportunity is dependent on 
>where you live and the whims of censors.
>
>Information freedom supports the peace and security that provide a 
>foundation for global progress. Historically, asymmetrical access to 
>information is one of the leading causes of interstate conflict. When 
>we face serious disputes or dangerous incidents, it's critical that 
>people on both sides of the problem have access to the same set of 
>facts and opinions.
>
>As it stands, Americans can consider information presented by foreign 
>governments - we do not block their attempts to communicate with 
>people in the United States. But citizens in societies that practice 
>censorship lack exposure to outside views. In North Korea, for 
>example, the government has tried to completely isolate its citizens 
>from outside opinions. This lop-sided access to information increases 
>both the likelihood of conflict and the probability that small 
>disagreements will escalate. I hope responsible governments with an 
>interest in global stability will work to address such imbalances.
>
>For companies, this issue is about more than claiming the moral high 
>ground; it comes down to the trust between firms and their customers. 
>Consumers everywhere want to have confidence that the internet 
>companies they rely on will provide comprehensive search results and 
>act as responsible stewards of their information. Firms that earn that 
>confidence will prosper in a global marketplace. Those who lose it 
>will also lose customers. I hope that refusal to support politically-
>motivated censorship will become a trademark characteristic of 
>American technology companies. It should be part of our national 
>brand. I'm confident that consumers worldwide will reward firms that 
>respect these principles.
>
>We are reinvigorating the Global Internet Freedom Task Force as a 
>forum for addressing threats to internet freedom around the world, and 
>urging U.S. media companies to take a proactive role in challenging 
>foreign governments' demands for censorship and surveillance. The 
>private sector has a shared responsibility to help safeguard free 
>expression. And when their business dealings threaten to undermine 
>this freedom, they need to consider what's right, not simply the 
>prospect of quick profits.
>
>We're also encouraged by the work that's being done through the Global 
>Network Initiative - a voluntary effort by technology companies who 
>are working with non-governmental organization, academic experts, and 
>social investment funds to respond to government requests for 
>censorship. The Initiative goes beyond mere statements of principle 
>and establishes mechanisms to promote real accountability and 
>transparency. As part of our commitment to support responsible private 
>sector engagement on information freedom, the State Department will be 
>convening a high-level meeting next month co-chaired by Under 
>Secretaries Robert Hormats and Maria Otero to bring together firms 
>that provide network services for talks on internet freedom. We hope 
>to work together to address this challenge.
>
>CONCLUSION
>
>Pursuing the freedoms I've talked about today is the right thing to do.
>
>But it's also the smart thing to do. By advancing this agenda, we 
>align our principles, our economic goals, and our strategic 
>priorities. We need to create a world in which access to networks and 
>information brings people closer together, and expands our definition 
>of community.
>
>Given the magnitude of the challenges we're facing, we need people 
>around the world to pool their knowledge and creativity to help 
>rebuild the global economy, protect our environment, defeat violent 
>extremism, and build a future in which every human being can realize 
>their God-given potential.
>
>Let me close by asking you to remember the little girl who was pulled 
>from the rubble on Monday in Port-au-Prince. She is alive, was 
>reunited with her family, and will have the opportunity to help 
>rebuild her nation because these networks took a voice that was buried 
>and spread it to the world. No nation, group, or individual should 
>stay buried in the rubble of oppression. We cannot stand by while 
>people are separated from our human family by walls of censorship. And 
>we cannot be silent about these issues simply because we cannot hear 
>their cries. Let us recommit ourselves to this cause. Let us make 
>these technologies a force for real progress the world over. And let 
>us go forward together to champion these freedoms.
>
>
>
>


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