Strickling announces NTIA “Internet 3.0” initiatives

Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, gave a speech The Internet: Evolving Responsibility for Preserving a First Amendment Miracle at The Media Institute in Washington DC on February 24, 2010.

In it he suggests that we are now entering on a third stage of Internet development -whereas the Internet has been allowed togrow freely and form its own ecosystems, it is now becoming necessary to for some intervention to allow it to flourish optimally, particularly with respect to free speech. He notes the following initiatives:

Privacy policy. A series of consultations are being launched on how to best preserve user privacy.

Child protection and Freedom of Expression: The Online Safety Technology Working Group, created by Congress and convened by NTIA, will issue a report on the state of the art in child protection strategies online.

Cybersecurity: How do we meet the security challenge posed by the global Internet which will require increased law enforcement and private sector technology innovation yet respect citizen privacy and protect civil liberties. A Commerce Department cybersecurity initiative will address these issues, particularly as they relate to improving the preparedness of industry for cyber attacks.

Copyright protection: NTIA and the US Patent and Trademark Office, are beginning a comprehensive consultation process that will help the Administration develop a forward-looking set of policies to address online copyright infringement in a balanced, Internet-savvy manner.

Internet Governance: The NTIA will conduct a series of administrative reviews to ensure that the agreed upon ICANN commitments are carried out in full.