The White House announced today that sixty one countries have signed the Declaration for the Future of the Internet. The high-level vision and principles expressed in the Declaration—to have a single, global network that is truly open, fosters competition, respects privacy and inclusion, and protects human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people—are laudable.
But clearly they are aspirational. Implementing these principles will require many signatory countries to change their current practices, which include censoring online speech of marginalized communities, failing to build out affordable high-speed internet, using malware and mass surveillance to spy on users, fostering misinformation, secretly collecting personal information, and pressuring big tech platforms to police online speech
We are pleased that the Declaration lays out important standards for achieving a free, open, and human rights-protecting Internet. Hopefully, the signatories to the Declaration will deliver on the Declaration’s promises, by aligning their practices, policies, and laws with its principles.
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