Ambassador Kramer: U.S. 'disappointed' Internet was swept into treaty talks

U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer said he was disappointed that a United Nations agency refused to sideline treaty proposals backed by Russia and China that threatened Internet freedom. "I can say, candidly, I was disappointed these issues weren't taken off the table," Ambassador Kramer said in his first public appearance since the U.N. telecommunications treaty conference ended.

The U.S. refused to sign the treaty, arguing that it included troublesome Internet-related provisions. Ambassador Kramer, who headed up the U.S. delegation during the conference, lamented the acrimonious outcome to the talks. "I very much believe that this kind of war-mongering conversation on the ITU is a very counterproductive exercise," Ambassador Kramer said at an Internet Society-hosted event at American University. "What should be the discussion is, how do you bolster multi-stakeholder governance? It is a positive message, but it's a pragmatic one." Ambassador Kramer said he hopes ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure will resolve to keep the ITU's focus on telecommunications in the future, rather than expanding its attention to the Internet. "I think that if he's a forward-looking leader, he'll realize that the telecom charter is the right area and these other areas are going to get him nowhere in terms of broader support," he said. In the short-term, the U.S. needs to keep engaging other countries, particularly English-speaking African countries and nations in Latin America, in the discussion about Internet governance, he said. "They're listening, they want to have a dialogue," Ambassador Kramer said. "We need to be spending more time with those nations."