Kerry Says US Is On the "Right Side of History" When It Comes To Online Freedom

An anonymous reader writes "Addressing the audience at the Freedom Online Coalition Conference, Secretary of State John Kerry defended NSA snooping actions saying: 'Let me be clear – as in the physical space, cyber security cannot come at the expense of cyber privacy. And we all know this is a difficult challenge. But I am serious when I tell you that we are committed to discussing it in an absolutely inclusive and transparent manner, both at home and abroad. As President Obama has made clear, just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should do it. And that's why he ordered a thorough review of all our signals intelligence practices. And that's why he then, after examining it and debating it and openly engaging in a conversation about it, which is unlike most countries on the planet, he announced a set of concrete and meaningful reforms, including on electronic surveillance, in a world where we know there are terrorists and others who are seeking to do injury to all of us. And finally, transparency – the principles governing such activities need to be understood so that free people can debate them and play their part in shaping these choices. And we believe these principles can positively help us to distinguish the legitimate practices of states governed by the rule of law from the legitimate practices of states that actually use surveillance to repress their people. And while I expect you to hold the United States to the standards that I've outlined, I also hope that you won't let the world forget the places where those who hold their government to standards go to jail rather than win prizes.' He added: 'This debate is about two very different visions: one vision that respects freedom and another that denies it. All of you at the Freedom Online Coalition are on the right side of this debate, and now we need to make sure that all of us together wind up on the right side of history."

Comments

Re:Bingo

[Jason Levine]

And they use a lot of their money to push corporation control of the education system (e.g. corporate run charter schools). After all, what better way to prep the next generation of loyal consumers than by getting to them (and making a profit off them) young?

Re:Sure, I guess I agree

[dcw3]

So, are you implying that we were on the "dark side" during the revolutionary, WWI, and WWII, and Korean wars? If that's the case, I'm happy to be on that side. I don't agree with all the wars we've participated (or started) in. But the comment made by the GP is simply asinine.