How Biden can make his internet freedom agenda a success

The launch of President Biden's Alliance for the Future of the Internet has now been delayed after civil society activists and even some officials in the US government raised concerns that the new initiative would draw scarce resources away from existing fora dedicated to the advancement of internet freedom, deepen distrust between like-minded actors, and undermine the digital rights of those who live in repressive societies. The decision to pause the alliance’s launch offers the Biden administration an opportunity to reconsider the proposal and to better ground it in existing human rights norms. If established thoughtfully, the alliance could play an important role in pushing back on autocratic efforts to reshape the internet into an instrument of state control and in promoting an affirmative, positive agenda for internet governance in service of democratic values. By delaying the launch, the administration has created an opportunity to address well-founded concerns among civil society that the initiative risks undermining the very principles it seeks to promote. With that in mind, here are three ways that the administration can ensure that the Alliance for the Future of the Internet is a success.

[Jessica Brandt is policy director for the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at the Brookings Institution and a fellow in the Foreign Policy program’s Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology.]