RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top technology adviser told a group of Palestinian bloggers Wednesday that efforts to censor the Internet would ultimately backfire.
In Ramallah, Alec Ross said the US opposed any efforts aimed at "undermining an open Internet," and warned that online censorship could affect commerce as well as free speech.
By "taking away end-to-end connections", governments interfere with the basic purpose of the Internet, Ross said. This has "significant disadvantages" for the technology sector, he added.
Ross was responding to questions about a controversial initiative to control access to certain websites critical of President Mahmoud Abbas, during an event in Ramallah organized by the US Consulate.
"Preserving an open Internet is a foreign policy priority of the United States," he said, adding that the Obama administration opposed domestic legislation that would increase government access to online data as well as international initiatives to increase control over the Internet. "The 21st century is a lousy time to be a control freak," he said.
The US Consulate organized the discussion in Ramallah between Ross and Macon Phillips, the White House's director of new media, and a group of Palestinian bloggers and journalists.
Phillips, who operates www.whitehouse.gov [2], said governments should engage critics.
"Conversations are happening on the Internet whether you like it or not. You have to choose whether to ignore or engage with them," he said. "Not all of them are by people who like you."
Both officials explained the Obama administration's online strategy and took questions on how the US sought to portray its policies, particularly in the Middle East where it is not very popular.
"I don't view myself as a person marketing American policy," Ross said. "America's foreign policy is going to be judged by its actions ... not whether we tweet about it."
One participant asked why Clinton never came to Palestine to explain why her government intended to veto the UN statehood bid in September. Ross said she could not be everywhere at once, but he argued she had done more than any previous secretary of state to engage people while traveling.
"She is incredibly open. She always takes time to meet with civil society groups and NGOs," he said.
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