Internet Freedom Plan

I found this article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110215/wr_nm/us_usa_internet_clinton

To summarize, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address the world for a second time on this topic to discuss the impact and disruptive change that social media has proven to be.  Citing the events in Egypt and Iran as examples of how a free and open internet will enable and facilitate transformation.  The US has backed the idea of a free internet for some time, and even believes internet freedom to be a basic human right.

Clinton continues to condemn WIkiLeaks’ release of sensitive information, and takes the stance that freedom to act does not mean action without consequence.  She will say, "Our allegiance to the rule of law does not dissipate in cyberspace. Neither does our commitment to protecting civil liberties and human rights," according to the speech excerpts.  There will be no change from the existing policy to support a free internet and the US will continue to speak out against foreign powers that censor the internet or harass bloggers to control content.

This freedom is fundamental.  I can not imagine how different my career, relationships, well… life would be without the social networks I participate in and the media outlets I use. (like my blog)  Having been in messaging and collaboration for almost my whole career, I believe in giving people access to communicative technologies wherever and whenever they want.  The power to communicate with others without distance or time getting in the way is amazing and something I would not take away from anyone.

Social tools have changed the game a little bit because now the communication is made available in the form of feeds that can be tuned into or out of, concatenated or kept discrete, and accessed whenever or wherever you see fit.  This social revolution in the way we communicate has been one of the most interesting and impactful change I have been a part of.  I can not wait to see where we take things next, but as long as we know we have the freedom to innovate and build these technologies, I believe there is no limit to what we can achieve.