Hillary Clinton defends internet freedom

The Hague: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at length about Internet freedom in an address on Friday in The Hague. She called on the global community to protect freedoms of expression, association and assembly in the online world.

Here are some highlights from her speech -

• Internet freedom is vitally important to every nation in the world.
• We have to make sure human rights are as respected online, as offline.
• People should be free to exercise their rights in a city square, as well as a chat room.
• More than a million people are using the internet in repressive countries.
• Delivering internet freedom requires cooperative actions.This enterprise requires an ongoing effort.
• The 1st challenge is for the private sector to embrace their role in protecting internet freedom.
• When companies sell surveillance equipment to Syria or Iran or in past times Gaddafi, there can be no doubt they will be used for repression.
• Sanctions and export control are useful tools and United States make vigorous use of them. Sanctions are part of the solution - they aren't the solution.
• US supports the private-public collaboration  that exists to support the development of internet.
• If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and our position is the current system works