Cameron: Government must not restrict the internet

Prime Minister David Cameron told the London Conference on Cyberspace today that governments must not censor the internet.

He explained that even though security measures are required to protect both businesses and citizens, this must not be taken to mean governments can exert any form of control over internet content or use.

"We cannot leave cyberspace open to criminals and cyber terrorists," he said.

"At the same time we can't be too heavy handed in our approach. Governments must not use cyber security as an excuse for censorship. The balance we've got to strike is between freedom and free-for-all.

"Government does not run or shape the internet."

He also referenced recent reports from the government's listening agency, GCHQ, which stated that the UK has been under concerted cyber attack in recent years.

"Every day we see attempts on an industrial scale to steal government secrets – information of interest to nation states, not just commercial organisations.

"This summer a significant attempt on the Foreign Office system was foiled. These are attacks on our national interest, and we will respond to them as robustly as we do any other national security threat.

"[But] the internet is a force for economic, social and political good," he concluded.

Attending the conference via a live internet stream in place of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had pulled out due to a family emergency, US Vice President Joe Biden echoed Cameron's sentiments, and added that the internet must remain open.

"How do we achieve security for nations, businesses and people without compromising the openness that is the internet's greatest attribute? It's a key priority for all of us."

Biden explained his belief that it will take time to build an international consensus on how to protect the internet.

"We know it will take many years with people around the world to build a consensus on cyberspace.

"What people do online should not be decreed solely by groups of governments making decisions from on high.

"People should not be prevented from sharing their innovations with consumers simply because they live across a national frontier."

Biden said that the US approach to internet governance focused on transparency and accountability.

"We advocate a public-private collaboration. We can improve by bringing greater transparency and accountability to internet governance and institutions and by supporting successful initiatives such as the Internet Governance Forum," he said.