U.S.’s New Internet “Freedom” Policy To Benefit Latinos

Today U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to unveil the country’s new Internet “freedom” policy that has been in the works for the past year. The policy is set to promote the “freedom to connect.” The policy announcement comes on the heels of an uprising in Egypt that ultimately overthrew that country’s 30-year president, and after the sentiments there have caught on in other Middle Eastern countries. According to ABC News:

An aide to Clinton says she will “reaffirm U.S. support for a free and open Internet and underscore the importance of safeguarding both liberty and security, transparency and confidentiality, and freedom of expression and tolerance.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Clinton will also unveil a new policy, a year in the making, to support and train human rights activists, opposition figures, and civil society members how to go around government controls of the internet and mobile devices.

Clinton’s announcement is set to outline how the U.S. State Department will officially finance circumvention services (how to overcome firewalls) and how to secure email from surveillance. This has particular importance for Latinoamérica because, as we’ve reported at NewsTaco recently, the Egyptian protests bear a similar resemblance to struggles of Latinos in Puerto Rico, and also, Cuba.

Which is to say, these policies the State Department is announcing have a direct impact on Latinos — unfortunately the U.S. is pairing this news with events in the Middle East and not Latin America. The U.S.’s policy towards Latin America has been lame for a long time, especially since the country has been fixated on the Middle East for so long, and now that the time is ripe in places that aren’t in the Middle East for the Internet to promote the Democracy the U.S. has longed for in places like Cuba, it’s a sure bet these $30 million dollars’ worth of resources will be dispersed outside Latin America.