At an event today on Internet technology, governance, and First Amendment rights, Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, praised the U.S. role in creating the Internet in the context of a coming shift of Internet governance. What can we shift “to an international body so that everyone is comfortable that it will be not under the control of any government?” he asked. So that:
that the things that we value—openness, cross-border traffic, in a sense neutrality and not political influence over the Internet—will be something that will be preserved for the world. Because this is the U.S. gift to the world. The Internet is one of the best things I think history will prove that the U.S. has done.
Watch as he discusses this point in the context of open Internet:
Shapiro also addressed the European Court of Justice’s ruling in a case to force Google to remove certain private personal information from searches. He called it “absurd.”
Watch:
More video clips and full audio are now available from the event’s page. Darrell West, VP and director of Governance Studies at Brookings, moderated the discussion that was hosted by the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings.
Commentary
The Internet Is America’s Gift to the World
June 4, 2014