Democracy that Delivers Podcast #86: Daniel O’Maley and Sarah Moulton on the Importance of Open Internet

Maiko Nakagaki, Pamela Kelley Lauder |
From left: guest host Maiko Nakagaki, podcast guests Sarah Moulton and Daniel O’Maley, and host Pamela Kelley Lauder

This week’s podcast guests discuss the relationship between a thriving democracy and an open and accessible internet.

O’Maley is associate editor at the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), and Sarah Moulton is a senior manager of technology and innovation at the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

CIPE has partnered with CIMA and NDI to launch A Democratic Framework to Interpret Open Internet Principles, an initiative intended to counter oppressive actions and preserve internet openness. The initiative is composed of nine principles that reflect a commitment to inclusion, participation, and accountability in an open and free internet.

In the podcast, O’Maley explains that open internet, without the threat of government surveillance, gives citizens access to independent news media and information. Access to open internet also allows citizens to exercise their right to communicate freely with one another.

Moulton provides examples of authoritarian states that have shut down the internet, or slowed down internet speed, to silence opposition parties during elections.

The public is encouraged to provide feedback on A Democratic Framework to Interpret Open Internet Principles by October 31, 2017.

Want to hear more? Listen to previous podcasts at CIPE.org/podcast.

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Published Date: September 26, 2017