Senators get in on Internet freedom push
A bipartisan group of senators has formed a caucus to thwart Internet censorship outside the United States.
Several senators have formed a caucus to fight censorship of the Internet outside the United States. The Global Internet Freedom Caucus, formed this week, includes Democrats and Republicans.
Earlier this month some House members formed a similar caucus.
Members of Congress and the Obama administration have become increasingly focused on promoting Internet freedom as a part of a foreign policy agenda.
Since Google said in January that it was no longer willing to go along with the Chinese government's censorship of Google.cn, a version of Google for China, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given a speech backing Internet freedom. The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution Feb. 2 supporting Clinton’s position.
The Senate caucus is led by Sens. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). Other caucus members include: Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).