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Internet Freedom :: State Department

  • Internet Freedom State Department
    • "On February 15, 2011, Secretary Clinton reconfirmed the U.S. commitment to global Internet freedom in an address at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In last year's speech, the Secretary identified the defense of a free, open, and interconnected Internet as a U.S. foreign policy priority. The State Department works to advance Internet freedom as an aspect of the universal rights of freedom of expression and the free flow of information. The Internet and other digital technologies enable an unprecedented level of communication and connection among individuals. They empower people across the world with the tools to share ideas and information as never before. In many ways, the Internet is the largest collaborative effort humankind has ever seen, magnifying the power and potential of individual voices on a global scale. Yet just as people use these technologies to express themselves and advance freedom worldwide, numerous governments seek to deny the rights they enable. Repressive regimes are censoring search results, jailing journalists and activists, and imposing laws that restrict online discourse and access to information. Threats to Internet freedom are growing in number and complexity. The State Department not only works to combat Internet censorship, but to ensure the safety of communication and access to information on the new terrain of the 21st century"
  • Internet Freedom Alec Ross Senior Advisor for Innovation New York, NY February 16, 2011
  • Internet Rights and Wrongs: Choices & Challenges in a Networked World Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State George Washington University Washington, DC February 15, 2011
  • Joint Request for Statements of Interest: Internet Freedom Programs January 3, 2011 Department of State Public Notice
  • Remarks on Internet Freedom RemarksHillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State The Newseum Washington, DC January 21, 2010 
  • State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
  • Internet Freedom Coalition
TED: Evgeny Morozov: How the Net aids dictatorships
 Ex-CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Beaten, Arrested for Silent Protest at Clinton Speech

Voice of America

  • Organization
    • International Broadcasting Bureau
      • Office of New Media
  • Budget
    • International Broadcasting Bureau $250m FY09 [VOA Annual Report 2009]
    • FY 2001-02 $800,000 budget for "Internet and multimedia endhancement"
  • Circumventing Censorship (See Privacy / Circumvention Toos)
    • "Governments in China, Iran, and elsewhere invest significant resources to block websites, including those of BBG broadcasters. The Board underwrites Internet anti-censorship efforts, in which International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) experts work in tandem with other public and private-sector organizations in combating Web censorship." "To help audiences in authoritarian countries understand the principles and practices of democratic, free and just societies: . Combated censorship and signal interference through a number of innovative programs including use of multiple radio and TV broadcast frequencies and platforms and use of proxy servers and circumvention software." p. 43 [VOA Annual Report 2009]
    • VOA uses web-proxies to help distribute its content to countries that block VOA sites. The proxies eventually get blocked, VOA sets up new proxies, and distributes through email the addresses of the new proxies. VOA also distributes Freegate client software to allow individuals unfettered access to the Internet.
    • VOA has collaborated with GIFC [Ramirez]
    • Worldnet Television and Film Service
      • SafeWeb
        • Triangle Boy
        • Thomas C Green Safeweb Aint All that, The Register Oct. 18th 2001 (Safeweb keeps logs for 7 days)
        • VOA Works to Circumvent China's Net Defenses, Freedom Forum (Sept 3, 2001) (" Voice of America officials say they expect to hire a CIA-funded Internet company to set up servers aimed at anonymously routing Chinese surfers to the censored sites." Safeweb, Inc)
  • The Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (VOICE ACT)
    • HR 2647 Sec. 1261 VOICE Act 111th Cong. Pub. L. 84
      • Sec. 1263 Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and Media Fund
          (a) Establishment- There is established in the Treasury of the United States the Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and Media Fund (referred to in this section as the `Fund'), consisting of amounts appropriated to the Fund pursuant to subsection (f).
          (b) Administration- The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State.
          (c) Objective- The objective of the Fund shall be to support the development of technologies, including Internet Web sites, that will aid the ability of the Iranian people to--
            (1) gain access to and share information;
            (2) exercise freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly through the Internet and other electronic media;
            (3) engage in Internet-based education programs and other exchanges between Americans and Iranians; and
            (4) counter efforts--
              (A) to block, censor, and monitor the Internet; and
              (B) to disrupt or monitor cellular phone networks or SMS text exchanges.
          (d) Use of Amounts- In pursuit of the objective described in subsection (c), amounts in the Fund may be used for grants to United States or foreign universities, nonprofit organizations, or companies for targeted projects that advance the purpose of the Fund, including projects that--
            (1) develop Farsi-language versions of existing social-networking Web sites;
            (2) develop technologies, including Internet-based applications, to counter efforts--
              (A) to block, censor, and monitor the Internet; and
              (B) to disrupt or monitor cellular phone networks or SMS text message exchanges;
            (3) develop Internet-based, distance learning programs for Iranian students at United States universities; and
            (4) promote Internet-based, people-to-people educational, professional, religious, or cultural exchanges and dialogues between United States citizens and Iranians.
          (e) Transfers- Amounts in the Fund may be transferred to the United States Agency for International Development, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or any other agency of the Federal Government to the extent that such amounts are used to carry out activities that will further the objective described in subsection (c). (f) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to the Fund.
    • SENATE ADOPTS VICTIMS OF IRANIAN CENSORSHIP (VOICE) ACT Sen. McCain July 24, 2009
      • " Authorizes $30 million to the Broadcasting Board of Governors to expand Farsi language broadcasting into Iran by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and the Voice of America's Persian News Network.
      • "Authorizes $20 million for a new "Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and Media Fund," which will support the development of technologies, including websites, that will aid the ability of the Iranian people to gain access to and share information; counter efforts to block, censor, or monitor the Internet in Iran; and engage in Internet-based education programs and other exchanges with Americans online.
      • Requires a report by the President on non-Iranian companies, including corporations with U.S. subsidiaries, that have aided the Iranian government's Internet censorship efforts, including by providing deep packet inspection technology.
    • White House Letter April 1, 2010 " Consistent with the authorities contained in section 1264 of the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (Subtitle D of Title XII of Public Law 111-84, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010), I am providing a report prepared by my Administration. This report details U.S. efforts to ensure the free flow of information to Iran and to enhance the abilities of Iranians to exercise their universal rights. "
  • CRS Report to Congress, Internet Development and Information Control in the People's Republic in China , Feb. 2006
    • "U.S. government efforts to defeat Internet "jamming" include funding through the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide counter-censorship software to Chinese Internet users to access Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) in China." . . . . .

      International Broadcasting Bureau. The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), has promoted Internet freedom in China by focusing on its Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) websites, which are regularly blocked by Chinese authorities. In 2001, the BBG provided $100,000 to Safeweb Inc., a government contracted company that also had been briefly funded by the CIA, to set up proxy servers to help Chinese Internet users access prohibited information.53 However, within a year, Safeweb's technology was reportedly unsuccessful in protecting user identities.

      Since 2003, the BBG has funded Dynamic Internet Technology (DynaWeb) and UltraReach, which have each developed software to enable Chinese Internet users to access VOA and RFA websites (see Table 1). Funding for these Chinese programs constitutes about three-fourths of the BBG's global anti-jamming expenditures, which are expected to grow by about 28% in 2006 from the previous year. DynaWeb's website is difficult to block because of "anonymizing" technology that regularly changes its numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address. Dynaweb president, Bill Xia, disclosed that earlier efforts to provide Chinese Internet users with unblocked IP addresses through an e-mail subscription service had failed because censors had also subscribed to the service, and quickly blocked those sites as well.

      According to Xia, DynaWeb must evolve according to how China censors the Internet, and that "both parties can always implement new technologies to stay ahead and sustain the advantage." However, in testimony before the Congressional- Executive Commission on China, Xia stated that censors have a "brighter future," because China purchases the most advanced censorship technology from Western companies and has more resources than counter-censorship efforts in the United States.

      Table 1. Broadcasting Board of Governors Funding for Counter-Censorship Technology in China


      		FY2003 FY2004 FY2005
      Dynaweb $497,700 $806,326 $685,000
      UltraReach $3,000 $21,000 $42,003
      Total $500,700 $827,326 $727,003

      Source: Broadcasting Board of Governors.

      As of April 2005, Dynamic's homepage was viewed about 90,000 times per day, while UltraReach allows approximately 4,000 visits and 30,000 page views for VOA and 2,600 visits and 28,000 page views for RFA daily.57 Visits to these sites reportedly rise when PRC censorship tightens, such as during the SARS outbreak of 2003. The BBG disseminates Chinese-language news summaries, some of which contain critical opinions or stories about China, to recipients in China via e-mail. These e-mails employ techniques that circumvent censorship and include IP addresses of proxy servers through which users may view VOA and RFA reports.58 Some U.S. companies are developing software for Chinese Internet users to circumvent the PRC government censorship firewall entirely. In February 2006, Anonymizer Inc., a company that specializes in identity protection technology, announced that it was developing anti-censorship software for Internet users in the PRC. Anonymizer's China program would provide a regularly changing URL which Chinese Internet users could access for unfettered links to the World Wide Web. According to the company, users' identities would also be protected from online tracking and monitoring by the PRC government. Peacefire, a free speech advocacy organization and website, has developed protocols for circumventing Internet blocking programs that can be used by Chinese Web users.

References

Other Tools

Internet as a Human Right

United Nations

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
    • Article 19: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
    • UN Report Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue* May 16, 2011
      • "The Special Rapporteur underscores the unique and transformative nature of the Internet not only to enable individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, but also a range of other human rights, and to promote the progress of society as a whole. Chapter III of the report underlines the applicability of international human rights norms and standards on the right to freedom of opinion and expression to the Internet as a communication medium, and sets out the exceptional circumstances under which the dissemination of certain types of information may be restricted. Chapters IV and V address two dimensions of Internet access respectively: (a) access to content; and (b) access to the physical and technical infrastructure required to access the Internet in the first place. More specifically, chapter IV outlines some of the ways in which States are increasingly censoring information online, namely through: arbitrary blocking or filtering of content; criminalization of legitimate expression; imposition of intermediary liability; disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of intellectual property rights law; cyber- attacks; and inadequate protection of the right to privacy and data protection. Chapter V addresses the issue of universal access to the Internet. The Special Rapporteur intends to explore this topic further in his future report to the General Assembly. Chapter VI contains the Special Rapporteur’s conclusions and recommendations concerning the main subjects of the report. "
    • United National Report: Internet Access as a Human Right, LATimes June 3, 2011 (Copy of Report at LA Times)
    • Internet Access is a Human Right, United Nations Report Declares, HUFFPO June 8, 2011("The report, which the Atlantic describes as reading "like a hat tip to WikiLeaks and its campaign for transparency," was met with strong praise from groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).")

ITU

Federal Activity

  • INTERNATIONAL BUREAU RELEASES SECOND INTERNATIONAL BROADBAND DATA REPORT. News Release. News Media Contact: Thomas Sullivan at (202) 418-0437 or Neil Grace at (202) 418-0506 IB . Contact Arthur Lechtman at (202) 418-1465 TXT 
  • INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON REQUIREMENTS PURSUANT TO THE BROADBAND DATA IMPROVEMENT ACT, INTERNATIONAL BROADBAND DATA REPORT. International Bureau Releases Second International Broadband Data Report by SECOND REPORT. (Dkt No. 10-171 ). Action by: Chief, International Bureau. Adopted: 05/20/2011 by REPORT. (DA No. 11-732). IB TXT TXT TXT
  • New Global Internet Freedom Task Force Established
    Under Secretary Shiner (Feb. 14): "The U.S. Government and the State Department have been on the front of the battle to ensure global access to information through the internet." watch | listen

Events

Law

Pursuant to Exec Order 12046 (1978), both the FCC and the Department of Commerce have a consulting role with regards to the State Department and the development of US communications policy.

Legislation

  • H.R. 275: Global Online Freedom Act of 2007 " To promote freedom of expression on the Internet, to protect United States businesses from coercion to participate in repression by authoritarian foreign governments, and for other purposes. "

ITU

  • ITU Resolutions
    • Res 101 IP Based Networks
    • Res 102 Management of Internet Domains and Addresses
    • Res 133 Role of administrations of Member States in the management of internationalized (multilingual) domain names
  • ITU: Political Leaders Must Address Information Society Issues - Global Governance Framework for 'Cyberspace' to be issue at World Summit ITU 11/12/02

    • Statistics

  • ITU ICT Free Statistics

    • Papers and Presentations

    Links

    IITAC:  US International Telecommunication Advisory Committee 

    USITAC WGIG Report

    The Department of State announces a request for comments on the report of the Working Group on Internet Governance, which is scheduled to be released to the public on July 18, 2005. The UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), created by Phase 1 of the WSIS, was tasked ``to investigate and make proposals for action, as appropriate, on the governance of Internet by 2005.'' The text of the report will be available at http://www.wgig.org or on the Department of State's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Web site at http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cip/wsis2005. The Department of State will be accepting comments from the public on the WGIG report through August 1, 2005. Comments should be sent to Sally Shipman, International Communications and Information Policy, at shipmansa@state.gov. In addition, according to the decision of PrepCom II, all governments and other stakeholders are invited to submit written comments and proposals on the issue of Internet governance to the WSIS Executive Secretariat (to wsis-contributions@itu.int) by August 15. Thereafter, a compilation of these contributions will be forwarded to the WSIS PrepCom III, together with the report of the WGIG. Fed Reg Notice.

    ITAC advises the Department of State on U.S. participation in international telecommunications treaty organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
    ITAC Website
    Old Website Archive
    ITAC has been particularly active on such issues as IP Telephony, International Internet Settlement, and ENUM.
    ITAC is administered by the International Communications and Information Policy Office, Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of the US Department of State.
    Pursuant to Exec Order 12046 (1978), both the FCC and the Department of Commerce have a consulting role with regards to the State Department and the development of US communications policy.

     

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