[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2109-S2110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM CAUCUS

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Madam President, yesterday I was joined by Senators 
Brownback, Lieberman and Casey, in introducing the newly formed Senate 
Caucus for Global Internet Freedom. I ask unanimous consent that the 
text of my comments be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:
  Senator Brownback and I created this caucus--together with Senators 
Durbin, Lieberman, Casey, McCain, Johanns, Barrasso, Menendez, and 
Risch--to promote the right to free expression, free press, free 
assembly, and free speech via the Internet and other forms of 
connective technology.
  The Internet has presented infinite opportunities for communication 
throughout the world. It is an incredible tool for reaching people of 
all nationalities, faiths, and ethnicities in their own language, and 
promoting new channels for education and news. The free exchange of 
ideas in a globalized world is essential to economic and political 
progress, and we are gathered here today to reaffirm our commitment to 
this issue.
  The Caucus will provide bipartisan leadership within the Congress 
supporting robust engagement by the public and private sectors to 
secure digital freedoms throughout the world. Joining with our 
colleagues who have established a similar caucus in the House, the 
Senate will continue to advance global Internet freedom as an essential 
communications tool. The power to connect and access information is a 
fundamental right which we seek to protect, and the caucus establishes 
an additional vehicle for doing so.
  Our goals are three-fold. First, we will continue to draw attention 
to this critical issue. Second, we will continue to highlight attempts 
by foreign governments to restrict the Internet through resolutions, 
legislation, and hearings. And third, we will continue to promote 
methods of evading Internet restrictions, including censorship 
circumvention technology and tools.
  I emphasize that we will ``continue'' to take these steps because--
while today marks the formal creation of the Caucus--this bipartisan 
group of Senators has been working to advocate for global Internet 
freedom for more than

[[Page S2110]]

a year. We have worked together to pass numerous resolutions supporting 
global Internet and press freedom, and highlighting restrictions in 
China and Iran. Many of us also authored the Victims of Iranian 
Censorship, or VOICE Act, which passed as part of the FY2010 Defense 
Authorization and was the only bill specifically regarding Iran signed 
into law last year.
  The VOICE Act authorized funding for additional U.S. broadcasting 
into Iran and the development of censorship circumvention tools. This 
effort was spearheaded by Senators McCain, Lieberman, Casey, Graham and 
myself, while Senator Brownback has worked to secure funding for such 
technology in consecutive Foreign Operations Appropriations spending 
bills.
  The 111th Congress, with strong bipartisan support, has done more to 
promote Internet freedom than any other Congress in history. We have 
set a standard that places cyber-journalists on equal footing with the 
broadcast and print press; we have funded the dissemination and use of 
censorship evasion technology at an unprecedented level; we have made 
Internet freedom a foreign policy priority and an integral part of the 
international agenda on human rights; and we will continue to take 
important policy positions on this pressing issue.
  More remains to be done, and the caucus will fill that role. Internet 
restrictions, censorship, manipulation, and monitoring continues to 
rise in China, Iran, and elsewhere around the world. The annual Freedom 
House Freedom of the Net Report shows a decline of digital freedom 
every year. Nations around the world are using sophisticated censorship 
techniques and abusing national security laws to crackdown on access to 
web-based information, communication, and news.
  Today, we reaffirm our commitment to this cause, and look forward to 
continuing to work together to promote Internet freedom around the 
globe.

                          ____________________