Internet Freedom Caucus launched, legislation introduced

Reps. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., and David Wu, D-Ore., Tuesday announced the launch of a bipartisan Global Internet Freedom Caucus to promote online free expression. At the same event, Wu announced he was introducing legislation aimed at providing groups and individuals with the tools to bypass efforts by some countries to block or censor the Internet.

Wu's bill would require the National Science Foundation to establish an Internet Freedom Foundation. It would provide competitive grants and awards to universities, private industry and other research and development organizations to develop technologies to defeat Internet suppression and censorship measures, such as China's Green Dam Internet filtering system.

"In this fast-changing digital world, we must work together to appeal to the better angels and strive not just for prosperity but for freedom," Wu said at a briefing. He expects the measure to be referred to the House Science Committee, where he is a senior member.

The caucus aims to serve as a forum for members of Congress, the executive branch, and U.S. industry groups to discuss ways to enhance online freedom and address minimum standards of conduct for U.S. businesses that operate in Internet-suppressing countries, according to Smith and Wu.

Smith said peaceful free expression on the Internet is "coming under concerted attack" by governments such as China and Iran. He pointed to the crackdown on Internet use and other technologies in Iran last summer in response to post-election protests in that country and also noted Google's decision this year to stop censoring search results for users in China after Google was the victim of a cyberattack originating from China.

Such incidents have prompted a focus on Internet freedom by Congress and the administration, which pledged in January to make Internet freedom a diplomatic priority. The issue was the focus of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week and will be the topic of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today.

At Tuesday's news conference, Smith made another pitch for his online freedom legislation. The bill would require the State Department to set up an Office of Global Internet Freedom, which would compile an annual list of Internet-restricting countries. The bill also would require U.S. information technology and communications firms to store personally identifiable information outside of Internet-restricting countries and report when countries ask them to censor, block or restrict access to information.