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EVGENY MOROZOV I ERIC SCHMIDT AND JARED COHEN

HILLARY CLINTON I BERNARD KOUCHNER

JULIAN ASSANGE I ABDULLAH GUL

WikiLeaks and the

New Language ofDiplomacy

Is Internet freedom an absolute, universal value like freedom of speech? If there

are limits, how and by whom can they be established? Is crying fire or scalingfirewalls anymore acceptable in cyberspace than in physical space? What is the

impact on the discourse between nations, cultures and individuals?

In this section, we gather a collage of comments from various key players from

Google to Wikileaks to the US State Department along with comments by one of

the most cogent analysts of the Net and the president of Turkey.

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Collage of Comment

The Interconnected Estate

ERIC SCHMIDT is the CEO of Google. JARED COHEN heads Google Ideas.

mountain v iew, calif.The advent and power of connection technologies

tools that connect people to vast amounts of information and to one anotherwill

make the 21st century all about surprises. Governments will be caught off-guard

when large numbers of their citizens, armed with virtually nothing but cell phones,

take part in mini-rebellions that challenge their authority. For the media, reporting

will increasingly become a collaborative enterprise between traditional news organi-

zations and the quickly growing number of citizen journalists. And technology com-

panies will find themselves outsmarted by their competition and surprised by con-

sumers who have little loyalty and no patience.

Today, more than 50 percent of the worlds population has access to some com-

bination of cell phones (five billion users) and the Internet (two billion). These peo-

ple communicate within and across borders, forming virtual communities that

empower citizens at the expense of governments. New intermediaries make it pos-

sible to develop and distribute content across old boundaries, lowering barriers to

entry. Whereas the traditional press is called the fourth estate, this space might be

called the interconnected estatea place where any person with access to the

Internet, regardless of living standard or nationality, is given a voice and the power

to effect change.

For the worlds most powerful states, the rise of the interconnected estate will

create new opportunities for growth and development, as well as huge challenges to

established ways of governing. Connection technologies will carve out spaces for

democracy as well as autocracy and empower individuals for both good and ill. States

will vie to control the impact of technologies on their political and economic power.

Foreign Affairs

I

Internet Freedom Is Our National Brand

The following comments are excerpted from remarks by US Secretary of State HILLARY

CLINTON on Internet freedom at the Newmuseum in Washington in January, 2010.

washingtonThe spread of information networks is forming a new nervous sys-

tem for our planet. In many respects, information has never been so free. There are

more ways to spread more ideas to more people than at any moment in history.And

even in authoritarian countries, information networks are helping people discover

Today, more than 50 percent

of the worlds population has

access to some combination of

cell phones (five billion users)

and the Internet (two billion).

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new facts and making governments more accountable.As President Obama has said,

the more freely information flows, the stronger societies become.

Amid this unprecedented surge in connectivity, we must also recognize that these

technologies are not an unmitigated blessing. These tools are also being exploited to

undermine human progress and political rights. Just as steel can be used to build hos-

pitals or machine guns, or nuclear power can either energize a city or destroy it, mod-

ern information networks and the technologies they support can be harnessed for

good or for ill. The same networks that help organize movements for freedom also

enable al-Qaida to spew hatred and incite violence against the innocent. And tech-

nologies with the potential to open up access to government and promote transparency

can also be hijacked by governments to crush dissent and deny human rights.

So while it is clear that the spread of these technologies is transforming our

world, it is still unclear how that transformation will affect the human rights and thehuman welfare of the worlds population. On their own, new technologies do not

take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, but the United States does.

We stand for a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowl-

edge and ideas. And we recognize that the worlds information infrastructure will

become what we and others make of it. Our responsibility to help ensure the free

exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic.

Today, we find an urgent need to protect these freedoms on the digital frontiers

of the 21st century. There are many other networks in the world. Some aid in the

movement of people or resources, and some facilitate exchanges between individuals

with the same work or interests. But the Internet is a network that magnifies the

power and potential of all others. And thats why we believe its critical that its users

are assured certain basic freedoms.

Freedom of expression is first among them. This freedom is no longer defined

solely by whether citizens can go into the town square and criticize their government

without fear of retribution. Blogs, e-mails, social networks, and text messages have

opened up new forums for exchanging ideas and created new targets for censorship.

But history itself has already condemned these tactics.

I was in Germany last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the

Berlin Wall. The leaders gathered at that ceremony paid tribute to the courageous

men and women on the far side of that barrier who made the case against oppres-

sion by circulating small pamphlets called samizdat. Their words helped pierce the

concrete and concertina wire of the Iron Curtain. The Berlin Wall symbolized a

world divided and it defined an entire era. Today the new iconic infrastructure of

our age is the Internet. Instead of division, it stands for connection. But even as

We stand for a single

Internet where all of

humanity has equal

access to knowledge and

ideas. And we recognize

that the worlds informa-

tion infrastructure will

become what we and

others make of it. Our

responsibility to help

ensure the free exchange

of ideas goes back to the

birth of our republic.

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networks spread to nations around the globe, virtual walls are cropping up in place

of visible walls.

Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from

accessing portions of the worlds networks. Theyve expunged words, names and

phrases from search-engine results. They have violated the privacy of citizens who

engage in non-violent political speech. These actions contravene the Universal

Declaration on Human Rights, which tells us that all people have the right to seek,

receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of fron-

tiers. With the spread of these restrictive practices, a new information curtain is

descending across much of the world.And beyond this partition, viral videos and blog

posts are becoming the samizdat of our day.

THE DARK SIDE | We have every reason to be hopeful about what people can

accomplish when they leverage communication networks and connection technolo-gies to achieve progress. But make no mistakesome are and will continue to use

global information networks for darker purposes.Violent extremists, criminal cartels,

sexual predators, and authoritarian governments all seek to exploit these global net-

works. Just as terrorists have taken advantage of the openness of our societies to carry

out their plots, violent extremists use the Internet to radicalize and intimidate.As we

work to advance freedoms, we must also work against those who use communication

networks as tools of disruption and fear.

Governments and citizens must have confidence that the networks at the core of

their national security and economic prosperity are safe and resilient. This is about

more than petty hackers who deface websites. Our ability to bank online, use elec-

tronic commerce, and safeguard billions of dollars in intellectual property are all at

stake if we cannot rely on the security of our information networks.

Disruptions in these systems demand a coordinated response by all governments,

the private sector, and the international community. We need more tools to help law

enforcement agencies cooperate across jurisdictions when criminal hackers and

organized crime syndicates attack networks for financial gain.

The same is true when social ills such as child pornography and the exploitation

of trafficked women and girls online are there for the world to see and for those who

exploit these people to make a profit.

THE FREEDOM TO CONNECT |America stands for the freedom to connect the idea that governments should not prevent people from connecting to the

Internet, to websites or to each other. The freedom to connect is like the freedom of

assembly, only in cyberspace. It allows individuals to get online, come together and

hopefully cooperate.

A new information cur-

tain is descending across

much of the world.

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Our foreign policy is premised on the idea that no country more than America

stands to benefit when there is cooperation among peoples and states. And no coun-

try shoulders a heavier burden when conflict and misunderstanding drive nations

apart. So we are well placed to seize the opportunities that come with interconnec-

tivity. And as the birthplace for so many of these technologies, including the Internet

itself, we have a responsibility to see them used for good.

GOOGLE VS. CHINA | The situation involving Google has attracted a greatdeal of interest. We look to the Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review of

the cyber intrusions that led Google to make its announcement.And we also look for

that investigation and its results to be transparent. The Internet has already been a

source of tremendous progress in China. There are so many people in China now

online. But countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights

of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century.The United States and China have different views on this issue, and we intend to

address those differences candidly and consistently in the context of our positive,

cooperative and comprehensive relationship. Ultimately, this issue isnt just about

information freedom; it is about what kind of world we want and what kind of world

we will inhabit. Its about whether we live on a planet with one Internet, one global

community and a common body of knowledge that benefits and unites us all, or a

fragmented planet in which access to information and opportunity is dependent on

where you live and the whims of censors. Information freedom supports the peace

and security that provides a foundation for global progress.

Historically, asymmetrical access to information is one of the leading causes of

interstate conflict. When we face serious disputes or dangerous incidents, its critical

that people on both sides of the problem have access to the same set of facts and opin-

ions. As it stands, Americans can consider information presented by foreign govern-

ments. We do not block their attempts to communicate with the people in the US.

But citizens in societies that practice censorship lack exposure to outside views. In

North Korea, for example, the government has tried to completely isolate its citizens

from outside opinions. This lopsided access to information increases both the likeli-

hood of conflict and the probability that small disagreements could escalate.

I hope that responsible governments with an interest in global stability will work

with us to address such imbalances. For companies, this issue is about more than

claiming the moral high ground. It really comes down to the trust between firms and

their customers. Consumers everywhere want to have confidence that the Internet

companies they rely on will provide comprehensive search results and act as respon-

sible stewards of their own personal information. Firms that earn the confidence of

The freedom to connect is

like the freedom of assem-

bly, only in cyberspace. It

allows individuals to get

online, come together and

hopefully cooperate.

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those countries and basically provide that kind of service will prosper in the global

marketplace.

Those who lose the confidence of their customers will eventually lose customers.

No matter where you live, people want to believe that what they put into the Internet

is not going to be used against them.And censorship should not be in any way accept-

ed by any company from anywhere.

American companies need to make a principled stand. This needs to be part of

our national brand. Im confident that consumers worldwide will reward companies

that follow those principles.We cannot stand by while people are separated from the

human family by walls of censorship.

I

The Internet Should Be a Protected International Space

BERNARD KOUCHNER is the former foreign minister of France.

parisThe Internet must be granted the legal status that reflects its universality.

That status must recognize it as a protected international space so that it will be more

difficult for repressive governments to use the sovereignty argument against funda-

mental freedoms.

This is a critical issue. The battle of ideas has started with, on one side, the advo-

cates of a universal and open Internet, based on freedom of expression and freedom

of association, on tolerance and respect for privacy, and, on the other side, those who

want to transform the Internet into a multitude of spaces that are closed off from

each other to serve the purposes of a regime, propaganda and all forms of fanaticism.

Freedom of expression is the foundation of all other freedoms. Without it,

there are no free nations, Voltaire said. This spirit of the Enlightenment, which is

universal, should run through the new media. The defense of fundamental free-

doms and human rights must be the priority for governance of the Internet. It is

everyones business.

I

For A Public Eye on Abuse

JULIAN ASSANGE is the founder of WikiLeaks. He made these comments to Time

Magazine in December.

Organizations which are abusive need to be in the public eye. They then have two

choices: One is to reform in such a way that they can be proud of their endeavors and

The Internet must be granted

the legal status that reflects its

universality. That status must

recognize it as a protected

international space so that it

will be more difficult for

repressive governments to use

the sovereignty argument

against fundamental freedoms.

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proud to display them to the public.The other is to lock down internally and to balka-

nize and as a result cease to be as efficient as they were.

To me, that is a very good outcome because organizations can either be efficient,

open and honest, or they can be closed, conspiratorial and inefficient.

This organization practices civil obedience. That is, we are an organization that

tries to make the world more civil and act against abusive organizations that are push-

ing it in the opposite direction.

If you want to talk about the law, its very important to remember the law is not

just simply what powerful people would want others to believe it is. The law is not

what a general says it is. The law is not what Hillary Clinton says it is.

L

Organizations can either

be efficient, open and honest,

or they can be closed, con-

spiratorial and inefficient.

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