Quote

History is rife with examples of governments taking actions to 'protect' their citizens from harm by controlling access to information and inhibiting freedom of expression and other freedoms outlined in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We must make sure, collectively, that the Internet avoids a similar fate.

The sovereigns of the Internet are acting like they have a divine right to govern.

The Internet may well disempower the nation state, but at the same time, it also strengthens certain specific state functions - like surveillance. As a political entity, it doesn't empower the nation sate. It creates the availability of much more data than the digestive system of the nation state could possibly assimilate.

When the Internet first came, I thought it was just the beacon of freedom. People could communicate with anyone, anywhere, and nobody could stop it.

The early idealists and companies and governments have all assumed that the Internet will bring freedom. Yet China proves that this is not the case.

There was one issue on which there seemed to be almost unanimity: the Internet should not be managed by any government, national or multinational.

The internet, Facebook and Twitter have created mass communications and social spaces that regimes cannot control.

A government capable of controlling the whole, and bringing its force to a point, is one of the prerequisites for national liberty. We combine in society, with an expectation to have our persons and properties defended against unreasonable exactions either at home or abroad.

There is no country on Earth where Internet and telecommunications companies do not face at least some pressure from governments to do things that would potentially infringe on users' rights to free expression and privacy.

Both the American people and nations that censor the internet should understand that our government is committed to helping promote internet freedom.