On Friday, four leading tech industry associations wrote to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on the State Department to advance Internet freedom and prioritize the preservation of the open, interoperable, secure Internet.
The letter highlights the leading role that the United States has played over time – together with American academics, investors, and entrepreneurs – in supporting critical research and development, investing in promising technologies, and defending the Internet’s underlying system of governance. It notes with concern how the perceived retreat of the U.S. from multilateral engagements and cuts to State Department funding and offices focused on Internet policy have emboldened countries, like China, who are eager to take advantage of decreased American engagement.
The signatories call on the State Department to articulate strong, consistent, principled positions in favor of a free, open, interoperable, and secure Internet and to work with likeminded partners to ensure that the Internet continues to be governed in a transparent, participatory, multistakeholder manner.
The four tech industry associations behind the letter – the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Global Network Initiative, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition, and the Information Technology Industry Council – collectively represent over 200 leading software, hardware, cloud, and AI companies providing a range of critical Internet-related products and services around the world. They commit, together with their members, to continue to defend the open, interoperable, secure Internet and the values it represents.