Washington Preaches Internet Freedom
But Practices Surveillance
By Rebecca MacKinnon – On Monday (Apr 23, 2012), President Barack Obama said of the Internet and mobile technologies that they, “should be in place to empower citizens, not suppress them.”
In the Internet age, it is technically trivial for corporations and governments to gain access to people’s private communications and track their movements. The Obama administration recognizes that online freedom requires not only an open and uncensored Internet, but also one on which government and corporate surveillance powers are appropriately constrained, so that citizens are protected against abuse, and abusers are held accountable.
Even as the White House clamps down in Iran and Syria, other parts of the U.S. government are driving the development of policies, regulatory norms, and business practices that make a mockery of Washington’s well-meaning efforts to expand Internet freedom abroad.
But, the U.S. global Internet freedom agenda will only succeed in the long run if the United States can find a way to live up to its own values. more> http://is.gd/BAEYtk
