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Worldwide Freedom for the Worldwide Web: U.S. Efforts to Protect Internet Freedom
State Department |
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Date: Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Time: 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT)
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice established the Global Internet Freedom Task Force (GIFT) in February 2006 as an internal State Department coordination group to address challenges to freedom of expression and the free flow of information on the Internet. GIFT's core aims are to maximize freedom of expression and the free flow of information and ideas, to minimize the success of repressive regimes in censoring and silencing legitimate debate, and to promote Internet access.
Since its launch, the task force has developed a robust global Internet strategy that aims to monitor and respond to threats to Internet freedom and to expand Internet access, in coordination with other U.S. government agencies and the White House.
Now, almost two years after the establishment of GIFT, join Ambassador David Gross as he answers your questions about progress the United States has made in protecting Internet freedom around the world and the role that governments should play in regulating the World Wide Web, particularly following the second meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Rio in November.
Guest Biography: Ambassador David A. Gross has served since August 2001 as the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy. While with the Department of State, he has addressed the U.N. General Assembly, and he led U.S. government participation in the multilateral preparatory work for both phases of the U.N. "Heads of State" World Summit on the Information Society, heading the U.S. delegation to the formal summits in Geneva and Tunis. He has served on the U.N. Information and Communications Technologies Task Force and led interagency telecommunications delegations to many countries. He also has conducted senior-level bilateral discussions with representatives from more than 70 countries and provided commercial and policy advocacy on behalf of U.S. companies in markets around the world.
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