MultiVu Digital Center Feed: State Department Continues to Fight for Internet Freedom but Senior Official Says Expanding Restrictions to Access and New Threats Pose Major Challenges to the Free Flow o

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March 2, 2010
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MultiVu Digital Center Feed: State Department Continues to Fight for Internet Freedom but Senior Official Says Expanding Restrictions to Access and New Threats Pose Major Challenges to the Free Flow of Information

  DATELINE/CITY:   2 March, 2010 - Washington, DC

  FORMAT:  Soundbite

STORY SUMMARY:   Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner remarks on "Global Internet Freedom and the Rule of Law" before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:   More available at http://thedigitalcenter.com/projects/1554-state-department-continues-to-fight- for-internet-freedom-but-senior-official-says-expanding-restrictions-to-access -and-new-threats-pose-major-challenges-to-the-free-flow-of-information

  http://www.state.gov

  CLIP CONTAINING  1 SOUNDBITE (TRT 1:17)
  Soundbite #1

Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

Summary: Assistant Secretary Posner says State Department continues to fight for Internet Freedom but the problems persist and expanding restrictions to access and new threats pose major challenges to the effort.

Verbatim:  As Secretary Clinton highlighted in her January 21st speech on Internet Freedom, the State Department continues to protest the arrest, detention and harassment of bloggers in Iran, China, Egypt, Vietnam and elsewhere.  And countries that seek to filter access to information are only becoming more skilled at doing so.  These problems persist, but the threats to Internet Freedom are expanding beyond restricting access to content.  As again Secretary Clinton described repressive regimes are co-opting the media, tools to crush dissent and deny human rights. And while the rapid increase in the use of mobile phones creates new platforms for connecting people and providing access to information it also creates new threats to free expression and the free flow of information, so we have a major set of challenges.  State Department since 2006 has had an Internet Freedom Task Force which has been re-launched as the Net Freedom Task Force, chaired by two of our under secretaries, and it is going to oversee the State Department's efforts on these issues.   (RT  1:12)

VIDEO PROVIDED BY:  U.S. Department of State

FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR HARD COPY, PLEASE E-MAIL: digitalcenter@multivu.com

Media Contact:  John Appleton, +1-202-647-5321, appletonjt@state.gov, George McNamara, +1-202-647-5361, mcnamara@state.gov

/PRNewswire -- March 2/

Video:  http://thedigitalcenter.com/projects/1554-state-department-continues-to-fight-for-internet-freedom-but-senior-official-says-expanding-restrictions-to-access-and-new-threats-pose-major-challenges-to-the-free-flow-of-information
Source: U.S. Department of State
   

Web Site:  http://www.state.gov/

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