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NetFreedom Task Force
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The Global Internet Freedom Task Force was established by <a href="/facts/United_States_Secretary_of_State/AgUe4Dkq">United States Secretary of State</a> <a href="/facts/Condoleezza_Rice/bCc6WEnI">Condoleezza Rice</a> in February 2006 "to monitor and respond to threats to freedom of expression on the internet".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The task force considers foreign policy aspects of Internet freedom, including: </p> <ul><li>The use of technology to restrict access to political content and the impact of such censorship efforts on U.S. companies;</li> <li>The use of technology to track and repress dissidents; and</li> <li>Efforts to modify <a href="/facts/Internet_governance/Wqd2Ishj">Internet governance</a> structures in order to restrict the free flow of information.</li></ul> <p>The task force was mentioned by U.S. Secretary of State <a href="/facts/Hillary_Clinton/dPzm9ru4">Hillary Clinton</a> in a speech on Internet Freedom delivered at the <a href="/facts/Newseum/hnU3LjDP">Newseum</a> in Washington, D.C., on January 21, 2010, stating "We are reinvigorating the Global Internet Freedom Task Force as a forum for addressing threats to internet freedom around the world, and urging U.S. media companies to take a proactive role in challenging foreign governments' demands for censorship and surveillance."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The task force was renamed the NetFreedom Task Force shortly thereafter.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Digital_rights/tqUsokDe">Digital rights</a> – the human rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, or communications networks</li> <li><a href="/facts/Internet_censorship/938thaNE">Internet censorship</a> – the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet</li> <li><a href="/facts/Open_Technology_Fund/YB8JJABh">Open Technology Fund</a> (OTF) – a U.S. Government funded program created in 2012 at Radio Free Asia to support global Internet freedom technologies</li> <li><a href="/facts/Right_to_Internet_access/ItuskWE7">Right to Internet access</a> – the view that all people must be able to access the Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of speech</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Internet Freedom: The NetFreedom Taskforce", U.S. Department of State, January 20, 2009 <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/cip/netfreedom/" target="_blank">https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/cip/netfreedom/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Global Internet Freedom Task Force", U.S. Department of State, November 3, 2008 <a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/lbr/c26696.htm" target="_blank">https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/lbr/c26696.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2006, U.S. Department of State, April 4, 2007, p. 75 <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/80699.pdf" target="_blank">https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/80699.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Internet Freedom: The prepared text of U.S. of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech, delivered at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.", Foreign Policy, January 21, 2010 <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/21/internet_freedom" target="_blank">https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/21/internet_freedom</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"NetFreedom Task Force Meeting", U.S. Department of State, March 4, 2010 <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/03/137790.htm" target="_blank">https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/03/137790.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>