Hillary, Bill Clinton canvass global access to Internet

Mr. Clinton who was a special guest at the 40th public meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which held in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Northern California, United States, said that he is a firm believer in the continuous openness of the Internet.

“We should continue to do what we do right so as to keep taxes low keep e-Commerce doing great,” he declared.

Clinton recalled that it was encouragement of his regime that stimulated the kind of growth ICANN has witnessed from the United States government and the world at large.

Responding to the question on the role of government in Internet Governance, the former president of United States said that one thing he likes most in the transformation the internet community has embedded has been the multi-stakeholder approach.

He appealed that this be sustained and emphasised that anything that is criminal in the real world should be seen as wrong virtually, that is, online.

“It is good to apply the same principle online,” he asserted as a firm believer on internet access for all, he is extremely proud of her wife�s disposition on the matter too.

He also noted that by the time he left office, an estimated 95 per cent of schools in the United States have connected to the Internet.

Clinton also made case for the rich countries of the world to subsidise the cost of internet access to the developing countries.

According to him, there is no good government without a strong civil society who work toward provision of good environments.

He noted that it would be difficult to build a good system of governance in an economy; therefore, he urged advanced countries and those economies that are doing well to support development of poor or least developing countries.

President Clinton is the founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the 42nd President of the United States, described 21st century as an interesting time to be alive despite all the challenges posed by what is happening in Africa and Middle East, adding that all these have by one way or another inspired by openness of the Information Technology through the Internet.

“We can do better when every other person recognizes the freedom and sensibility of others,” Clinton said.

He warned that lots of institutions are being led today including governments by people who want to hold on to power for self-aggrandizement and creation of empires for themselves. ICANN was formed in 1998 during President Clinton�s second term in office

Source : Daily Champion