東西 | dongxi

In the wake of the recent China-Google debacle, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed several issues regarding internet freedom today at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum.  Clinton not only adapted Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech of 1941, but also made several Cold War-era references, including the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, while calling for the “information curtain” of censorship to be pulled down.

Though Clinton mentioned several nations, including Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, for infringements on cyber “rights,” she was also clear in directing her concern on China.  She called for “Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review” of the recent hacking accusations as well as greater transparency.  She continued on to mention several incidents around the world, including cyber attacks against religious minorities as well as the imprisonment against bloggers in nations such as Egypt.

One interesting point was her suggestion of a mobile app used to allow the public to rate government ministries, including that of the United States.  However, such a system, she noted, would require assistance for developers and a mechanism from the State department (which it currently lacks).

Clinton’s speech was far from a dry rant against these oppressive nations;  she began and ended her speech with stories about Haiti, on how information flow (through mobile users) helped to raise money for humanitarian efforts and how a girl pulled from the rubble in Port-Au-Prince with the help of freedom (in contrast to the “rubble of oppression.”)

For more information, check out the official release from the State Department, including the video recording of the speech.  Remarks on Internet Freedom

Also, check out CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast featured Jared Cohen, Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State for some more insight and discussion on today’s speech.

Tags: bol, china, hillary clinton, human rights, internet, internet freedom, secratary of state