The Internet Must Remain Open, Says British Government

The Internet must remain open, says British government

British Prime Minister David Cameron and William Hague, British foreign minister, opposed the government Web censorship in countries such as China and Russia, warning that the Internet should be free and open.

According to ITPro, David Cameron, spoke to the web of freedoms London Conference on Cyberspace, said: "Governments should not use cyber security as an excuse for censorship ... The government does not have the Internet, the government has not the shape of the Internet. "

The Hague also pontificate the dangers of "hard hand" of government censorship, arguing that "suffocate" the Internet leads to a "network fragmented and ghettoised.

Hague told delegates: "The Internet must remain open and not be fragmented and the ghettoes, subject to rules and processes in different regions established by the national isolation, with the barriers imposed by the state of trade, commerce and free flow of information and ideas. "

Flourishing

"I think we should aspire to a future in cyberspace that is not smothered by government control or censorship, but where innovation and competition and investment to flourish and the company are rewarded," he said.

"Nothing could be more fatal or self-destructive than the heavy hand of state control over the Internet, which grows only by the talent of individuals and industry in an open marketplace of ideas and innovation."

And the freedom to use the Web, The Hague also spoke of other human rights online.

"And 'I am convinced that all the passionate human rights should be fully in line: not only the right to privacy, but the right to freedom of expression.

"Human rights are universal. Cultural differences are not an excuse to undermine human rights, and the use of digital networks of criminals or terrorists is justified in countries censor their citizens."

Without naming names ...

Although he was careful not to name any specific country, the control, it seems likely that China and several Arab countries in The Hague in mind when he spoke.

Some Web sites and news agencies, such as Google, have been blocked, and in some cases, the Internet is completely cut off from their respective governments.

William Hague, is not the only one who thinks the internet is a human rights issue, the creator of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, agrees.