PILLAR IV Advance American Influence T he world looks to the United States, where much of the innovation for today’s Internet originated, for leadership on a vast range of transnational cyber issues. The United States will maintain an active international leadership posture to advance American influence and to address an expanding array of threats and challenges to its interests in cyberspace. Collaboration with allies and partners is also essential to ensure we can continue to benefit from the cross-border communications, content creation, and commerce generated by the open, interoperable architecture of the Internet. ries-old battles over human rights and fundamental freedoms are now playing out online. Freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, as well as privacy rights, are under threat. Despite unprecedented growth, the Internet’s economic and social potential continues to be undermined by online censorship and repression. The United States stands firm on its principles to protect and promote an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet. We will work to ensure that our approach to an open Internet is the international standard. We will also work to prevent authoritarian states that view the open Internet as a political threat from transforming the free and open Internet into an authoritarian web under their control, under the guise of security or countering terrorism. Preserve the long-term openness, interoperability, security, and reliability of the Internet, which supports and is reinforced by United States interests. OBJECTIVE: Priority Actions Promote an Open, Interoperable, Reliable, and Secure Internet PROTECT AND PROMOTE INTERNET FREEDOM: The United States Government conceptualizes Internet freedom as the online exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms — such as the freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, religion or belief, and privacy rights online — regardless of frontiers or medium. By extension, Internet freedom also supports the free The global Internet has prompted some of the greatest advancements since the industrial revolution, enabling great advances in commerce, health, communications, and other national infrastructure. At the same time, centu- 24