U.S. National Brand: Oppose Censorship

After Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new commitment to undoing foreign online censorship, U.S. tech vendors pledged support on the condition that State's moves do not harm domestic business.

"We agree with Secretary Clinton that a single, secure and uncensored Internet is critical both for human rights and global prosperity and that this principle should be an active matter of U.S. foreign policy," Phil Bond, the president and CEO of industry group TechAmerica said in a statement following Clinton's Thursday remarks on Internet freedom. "Except in cases involving outright sanctions asserted by the U.S. government, American values also require the freedom of enterprise: Each company must decide where to do business on behalf of its customers, employees, and investors."

Some civil liberties groups over the past year had argued the America's trade partnerships with oppressive countries, such as China, have come at the cost of human rights.

Clinton's speech at the Newseum, a monument to free speech, refutes that contention.

"Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere. And in America, American companies need to make a principled stand," she said, after a series threats to the free flow of information in Iran, Vietnam and most recently China. Google was one company that took a stand, alleging a cyberattack against its corporate infrastructure from China attempted to infiltrate the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

"This needs to be part of our national brand. I'm confident that consumers worldwide will reward companies that follow those principles," Clinton added. "Over the next year, we will work with partners in industry, academia and nongovernmental organizations to establish a standing effort that will harness the power of connection technologies and apply them to our diplomatic goals."

A departmental group dedicated to Internet Freedom has been largely dormant since she took office, but Clinton said that she will reinvigorate it. The Global Internet Freedom Task Force was established in 2006, under the Bush Administration. When private sector "business dealings threaten to undermine this freedom, they need to consider what's right, not simply what's a quick profit," she explained.

After the speech, an audience member questioned the administration's ability to defend human interests over business interests. Clinton acknowledged that asking businesses to do the right thing is not always easily translated into practical practice. But she noted that protecting basic freedoms is in the long-term best interest of businesses.