Will TPP undermine the global Internet?

[Commentary] Analysts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have concerns about the deal’s intellectual property provisions, but it appears they have not taken into account the e-commerce chapter which makes the free flow of information a default and essentially says nations can only limit information flows to protect privacy, public morals or national security.

Under this chapter, the US could challenge a TPP partner’s censorship because that nation is undermining free flow (e.g. Vietnam) as a violation of trade rules. While the critics are quite right to note that the process of negotiating TPP did not engender trust, the US and its negotiating partners have not figured out how to update trade negotiations (which require trust among negotiating partners) and the transparency necessary for good governance in the Internet age (which requires greater openness and dialogue with the public). I am not excusing them, but rather explaining why it is so hard for trade negotiators to catch up to good governance expectations.

[Susan Ariel Aaronson is research professor of International Affairs at George Washington University]