Congressmen have introduced legislation to strengthen the ability of groups and individuals to evade government control of the internet. The legislation would provide grants to universities, private companies and research groups to develop technologies to defeat suppression and censorship. -db
March 9, 2010
By Juliana Gruenwald
Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday the launch of a new bipartisan Global Internet Freedom Caucus to promote online free expression. At the same event, Wu announced he was introducing legislation aimed at providing groups and individuals with the tools to bypass efforts by some countries to block or censor the Internet.
Wu’s bill would require the National Science Foundation to establish an Internet Freedom Foundation, which would provide competitive grants and awards to universities, private industry, and other research and development organizations to develop technologies to defeat Internet suppression and censorship measures, such as China’s Green Dam Internet filtering system.
“In this fast changing digital world, we must work together to appeal to the better angels and strive not just for prosperity but for freedom,” Wu said during a news conference. He said he expects the measure to be referred to the House Science and Technology Committee, where Wu serves as a senior member.
The new bipartisan caucus established by Smith and Wu aims to also serve as a forum for members of Congress, the executive branch, and U.S. industry to discuss ways to enhance online freedom and address minimum standards of conduct for U.S. businesses that operate in Internet-suppressing countries, they said.
Smith noted that peaceful free expression on the Internet is “coming under concerted attack” by foreign governments such as China and Iran. He pointed to the crack down on Internet use and other technologies in Iran last summer in response to post-election protests in that country and also noted Google’s decision earlier this year to stop censoring search results for users in China after Google was the victim of a cyber attack originating from China.
Such incidents have prompted new focus on the issue of Internet freedom by Congress and the Obama administration, which pledged in January to make Internet freedom a diplomatic priority. The issue was the focus of a Senate Judiciary hearing last week and will be the topic of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Smith made another pitch for support for his Global Online Freedom Act. The bill would require the State Department to set up an Office of Global Internet Freedom, which would compile an annual list of Internet restricting countries. The bill also would require U.S. information technology and communications firms to store personally identifiable information outside of Internet-restricting countries and report when countries ask them to censor, block or restrict access to information.
Copyright 2010 National Journal Group Inc.