Tech trade groups: Clinton’s remarks ‘long overdue’

“Our own government needs to step up and protect an open Internet here at home by preserving Network Neutrality,” he said in a statement. “Network Neutrality means no corporate censorship and no government censorship. How can we encourage freedom abroad when it has not been defended in our own communications infrastructure?”

Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said modernizing our foreign policy framework is “long overdue.”

“Allowing policies that chip away at Internet freedom is one of the biggest failures of the past decade,” he said. “But it’s not too late to reverse this course and the Obama Administration seems to be paying attention.”

Dean Garfield, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents major tech firms including Microsoft and Intel, said, “the tech sector is at the forefront of developing the tools that enhance communication, education, economic opportunity, and the exchange of ideas….and stands ready to work with the State Department, other U.S. government agencies, other sectors, as well as governments around the world” to promote transparency and economic growth spurred by the free flow of information.