The British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced in an international conference in London that cyberspace should not be controlled by governmental agencies issuing a direct challenge to China and Russia over regulation of the internet. Nothing would be more fatal or self-defeating than the heavy hand of state control on the internet, which only thrives because of the talent of individuals and of industry within an open market for ideas and innovation, he said.

Hague told delegates that cyberspace should not be subject to separate rules and processes in different regions set by isolated national services, with state-imposed barriers to trade, commerce and the free flow of information and ideas. This, he said, would be deeply counter-productive. Both China and Russia have pushed for new international treaties governing cyberspace. China has also been heavily criticised for censoring the internet by blocking news or comment that it deems damaging.

According to him the countries must come together in a consensus to how to use cyberspace as a tool in the field of education, health, human rights, science & technology etc in short cyberspace must be used as a means for human development.

The spread of damaging malware, and the use of cyber warfare by states have pushed questions about the rules governing the internet to the fore. The conference is a first attempt to get all interested parties around the table to discuss potential ways forward, though it is not expected that anything binding will emerge during, or in the immediate aftermath, of the two-day meeting.

In his speech, Hague acknowledged that many of the countries and representatives here will have very different views. But the reasons to co-operate are far more compelling than the issues that divide us. He linked global prosperity to the expansion of the internet but warned of its dangers too.Hague said online crime was growing exponentially and claimed that more than 6m unique types of new malware were detected by industry in the first three months of this year alone. This activity was making it harder to protect people, and countries with weak cyber defences also made themselves vulnerable to state-sponsored attacks. But Hague said the answer to these issues did not lie in repression. He said Britain will always be on the side of people aspiring for political and economic freedom, in the Middle East and around the world. In the place of today’s cyber free-for-all, we need rules of the road. Without them, a darker scenario could well prevail, he said.

Internet should not be censored says British foreign secretary

Report by Adhir Roy Chowdury