Internet Freedom A Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age

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J U N E 2 0 1 1Internet FreedomA Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age6 |matter in political change, and that both dissidentsand dictators act on that basis.Most attention has focused on technologies thatallow dissidents to penetrate restrictive firewallsand communicate securely. But funding technologycomprises just one aspect of America’sInternet freedom agenda. The United States alsoadvocates international norms regarding freedomof speech and online assembly and opposesattempts by autocratic governments to restrictlegitimate online activity.The private sector has a critical role to play inpromoting Internet freedom, but, given corporateinterests in maximizing profits rather thanpromoting online freedom in repressive environments,efforts to expand its role are difficult.Ethical debates, ranging from whether Americancompanies should be permitted to sell repressiveregimes key technologies to the responsibilitiesof corporations in the face of an autocracies’demand for information, remain unresolved. Andthe other side of this coin – whether U.S. exportcontrols should prohibit selling technologies thatcould be used to promote online freedom – isoften overlooked.To date, the U.S. government has shied awayfrom articulating fully the motivations behind itsInternet freedom agenda. Administration officialsemphasize that their policy supports freedom ofthe Internet, not freedom via the Internet, andthat the Internet freedom agenda is not part of abroader strategy to support democratic evolution.It should be.Admittedly, promoting Internet freedom is complicated,and involves inherent tensions withother U.S. foreign policy, economic and nationalsecurity interests. This is particularly true in thearea of cyber security. Cyber security expertsseek to secure the United States against cyberattacks, for example, by pushing for greater onlinetransparency and attribution, while Internetfreedom proponents urge greater online anonymity.While tensions between Internet freedom andcyber security are real, and in some cases will forcedifficult choices, they should not prevent robustU.S. efforts to advance both.A robust Internet freedom agenda should reflectthe following eight principles:Principle 1: Embrace a ComprehensiveApproachU.S. policymakers should incorporate Internetfreedom into their decision-making (especiallyon cyber security and economic diplomacyissues); convene private sector professionals,export controls experts, diplomats and others toexplore new ways of promoting Internet freedom;and use traditional diplomacy to promoteInternet freedom.Principle 2: Build an International Coalitionto Promote Internet FreedomThe U.S. government should convene a core groupof democratic governments to advocate Internetfreedom in key international fora; urge governmentsto encourage foreign companies to join theGlobal Network Initiative (GNI); and ensure thatthe Secretary of State gives her next major addresson Internet freedom in a foreign country, possiblyin Europe alongside key European Union (EU)commissioners.Principle 3: Move Beyond CircumventionTechnologiesThe U.S. government should continue to fundtechnologies other than firewall-evasion tools,including those that help dissidents maintaindigital security, ensure mobile access and reconstitutewebsites after a cyber attack. The U.S.government should offer financial awards to fostertechnological innovation, require that any onlinetool receiving U.S. funding be subjected to anindependent security audit and expand the sources
of technology funding to include foreign governments,foundations and the private sector.Principle 4: Prioritize TrainingThe State Department, along with the U.S. Agencyfor International Development (USAID), shouldcontinue to foster Internet freedom through targetedtraining programs, including education ononline safety.Principle 5: Lead the Effort to BuildInternational NormsThe U.S. government should promote a liberalconcept of Internet freedom in all relevant fora,and reject attempts by authoritarian states to promotenorms that restrict freedoms of informationand expression online. It should also pursue aninternational transparency initiative to encouragegovernments to publicize their policies on restrictingonline information.Principle 8: Reform Export ControlsThe U.S. government should relax controls on technologiesthat would permit greater online freedomwhile protecting American national security, andeducate companies on the precise nature of exportcontrol restrictions so that companies do not overcomplyand deny legal technologies to dissidentsabroad.In addition, we offer several recommendationsfor technology companies, including providingdissidents basic technical assistance to better usebuilt-in security functions for software and hardware;better informing users and the public aboutwho may access the data they control and underwhat conditions; increasing corporate transparencyabout foreign government requests; and advocatingfor increased Internet freedom.Principle 6: Create Economic Incentivesto Support Internet FreedomU.S. officials should continue to articulate theeconomic case for Internet freedom, backed whereverpossible by solid quantitative evidence, andpush for Internet censorship to be recognized as atrade barrier.Principle 7: Strengthen the Private Sector’sRole in Supporting Internet FreedomCongress should adopt laws that prohibitAmerican corporations from giving autocraticgovernments the private data of dissidents whenthe request is clearly intended to quash legitimatefreedom of expression, and that requirecompanies to periodically disclose requests itreceives for such data to the U.S. government.U.S. officials should continue to urge companiesto join the GNI, but also encourage themto develop broad unilateral codes of conductconsistent with the GNI. They should also publiclyhighlight specific business practices, bothpositive and negative.| 7
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Internet Freedom A Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age

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