Kudos to Hillary Clinton, who on Thursday launched a U.S. State Department campaign to preserve and expand Internet freedom around the world—and hit out at regimes that continue to tighten Web censorship.
“Countries or individuals that engage in cyberattacks should face consequences and international condemnation,” she said, following attempts by Chinese hackers to read the emails of human-rights activists by attacking Google’s servers. “In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation’s networks can be an attack on all.”
Her note that Beijing should “conduct a thorough investigation of the cyber intrusions” does invite the fox to take the keys to the henhouse. But overall, the new Clinton Doctrine is welcome. Her department’s work to fund technology development that would help activists thwart their censors, and to fight off attempts in the U.N. to restrict access to information on the Internet, could deliver an important blow against autocrats beyond the Middle Kingdom.
See for instance the Twitter-powered “Green Revolution” in Iran, which has used social-networking technology to do more for regime change in the Islamic Republic than years of sanctions, threats and Geneva-based haggling put together. Social-networking may be a fad, but then so were the fax machines and bootlegged Frank Zappa albums smuggled behind the Iron Curtain a generation ago. Being popular with the kids doesn’t usually hurt the cause of liberty.
I listened to this speech and the Q&A on C-SPAN lastnight. She was fantastic. Although there was teleprompter, she was very fluent - she was not swinging head from one end to the other in abrupt swings.. she owned the words. She was terrific in the Q&A. Following that segment, they showed yesterday's Q&A with State Dept's Internet/Technology and Human Rights policy gurus - press interview - and that was also a very good segment. The Technology guy used to be the Internet/Tech policy person for Obama during the campaign days; his admiration for Hillary Clinton clearly came through.
Hillary Clinton is championing the cause of free speech and expression and open access to Internet all over the world. Kudos to her.
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Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010 Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010
It's good to see Hillary getting well deserved credit for her position on this. China's pissed about her comments - which means she's doing something right. She had the courage to call out those who would seek to oppress by limiting access to information.
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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less. ~Susan B. Anthony