Cameron Against Government Internet Censorship
Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken out against government censorship of the internet in countries like Russia and China. He is cited saying that governments can’t use cyber security as an excuse to censor the web. The internet isn’t owned by the government, and it doesn’t shape the web either.
Cameron wasn’t alone in opposing the measure. Foreign Secretary William Hague addressed the London Conference on Cyberspace with the dangers of state censorship, saying that suppressing web access would only lead to a rundown and broken internet. This must not be allowed to happen. The web should remain open, subject to separate rules and processes created by isolated national services for different regions - with state-imposed barriers to commerce, trade and the flow of ideas and information.
Hague went on to say that they must aim for a future for cyberspace that isn’t suppressed by government censorship or control. It should be a place where competition and innovation grow and enterprises and investments are rewarded. Nothing would be more self-defeating or fatal than state control of the web, which only flourishes due to the talent of industries and individuals in an open market for innovation and ideas.
Adding to the internet censorship opposition was US Vice President Joe Biden. He said that the openness that makes the web so powerful can’t be sacrificed. The internet isn’t broken up into social, political and economic webs, so there will be problems for those who want business to be open but freedom of expression to be closed. There is only one internet.