Kaufman Reaffirms Support for the Promotion of Global Internet and Press Freedom
During a Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee hearing Tuesday on "Global Internet Freedom and the Rule of Law," Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) emphad the integral roles that both the private and public sectors can play in promoting Internet and press freedom globally.
Addressing officials from the Departments of State and Commerce, he emphad that the U.S. government must make Internet and press freedoms top agenda items in bilateral consultations because "government to government" talks are the most effective means for progress. "If [Internet freedom and press freedom] isn't on the agenda," said Kaufman, certain countries "
get the clear message we don't care about it. And far too often this issue hasn't been on the agenda."
During the hearing, Kaufman questioned Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor on the status of the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (VOICE) Act, which was signed into law in October 2009. The VOICE Act is bipartisan legislation Kaufman co-authored which authorized funds for the development of technologies to help the Iranian people evade Internet restrictions, which Kaufman referred to in the hearing as a "model" for the U.S. government's response to online censorship.
He also questioned Posner and Daniel Weitzner, Associate Administrator at the Commerce Department's National Telecommunication and Information Administration, about the recent criminal convictions in Italy of Google executives based on content posted by third parties. Posner and Weitzner agreed with Kaufman that the convictions seriously threatened Internet freedom, particularly if replicated elsewhere.
In closing, Kaufman stressed that until U.S. and non-U.S. companies in repressive countries decide they will not abide by an Internet freedom "good neighbor" policy -- turning a blind eye to internal repression -- they will be "aiding and abetting" those regimes which suppress freedom of expression.