Hillary Clinton: Internet repression 'will fail'

She said the US was committed to global internet freedom, in her first major address since the Egyptian uprising.

The speech comes as online activists organise anti-government protests in several Middle Eastern countries.

"This is a foreign policy priority, one that will only increase in importance in the coming years," Mrs Clinton said.

'State repression'

In what is being hailed as a major policy speech, Mrs Clinton announced that the US government would invest an additional $25m (£15m) to help online dissidents and digital activists fight state repression.

She named China, Syria, Cuba, Vietnam and Burma as countries restricting online speech, and noted that Egypt's attempt to stifle protesters by switching off the internet was unsuccessful.

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were important tools that gave voice to people's aspirations, Mrs Clinton said.

She said the US state department would start Twitter accounts in Chinese, Russian and Hindi, adding to a suite of feeds that already includes French, Spanish, Arabic and Farsi.

She acknowledged that the internet has a problem with hateful speech which can inflame hostilities, but said that efforts to curb such content often become an excuse to violate rights to free speech.

"The best answer to offensive speech is more speech. People can and should speak out against intolerance and hatred," she said.

Mrs Clinton also linked internet freedom with economic prosperity; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version