London cyberspace conference seeks to set agenda for internet governance

Government officials, UN organizations and internet industry gathered in London to try to set an agenda for international governance on internet as the London Conference on Cyberspace opened Tuesday. British Prime Minister David Cameron praised the internet as "a force for good" in his speech to the conference, but also addressed problems such as cyber crime. He called for international cooperation on the problems because "a cross-border problem needs cross-border solutions, which is why the world needs to act together." And he hopes the conference "can set an agenda for the future." His words were echoed by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who remotely delivered a speech to the conference, saying cyber security is a "top priority" to the United States and calling for international laws to be applied on line. Representatives from more than 60 countries and regions attended the conference, whose major themes are set as economic growth and development, social benefits, cyber crime, safe and reliable access, and international security. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in the opening speech of the conference "This is not a traditional summit between governments. We have brought together representatives from industry, companies that own and operate international digital infrastructure, civil society and major international organization." According to him, a major goal of the conference is to establish a basis for international consensus on how to govern the internet. "We must strive for a model for internet governance in which governments, industry and users of the internet work together in a collective endeavor." He proposed a set of seven principles as a basis for more effective cooperation between states, business and organizations, which include "the need for governments to act proportionately in cyberspace" and "ensuring that cyberspace remains open to innovation and the free flow of ideas, information and expression." "We will not succeed in agreeing a way forward over night, but it is work that must begin now," he said. Hague expects the outcome of the London Conference could provide a basis for follow-on conferences that would be hosted by Hungary in 2012 and the Republic of Korea in 2013.