The Ron Paul-founded Campaign for Liberty has announced a new manifesto intended to serve as a conservative counterpoint to the “Declaration of Internet Freedom.”
“The Technology Revolution” manifesto critiques government regulation and liberals who state their goal of online freedom in similar terms, but who view corporate encroachment as a more immediate risk, Buzzfeed reported on Thursday.
“Around the world, the real threat to Internet freedom comes not from bad people or inefficient markets — we can and will always route around them — but from governments’ foolish attempts to manage and control innovation,” the document reads.
In four pages, the Paul manifesto specifically addresses anti-trust actions against companies in new industries, “net neutrality” rules for broadband providers, and the need for privately owned and competitive infrastructure.
Rand Paul has been an outspoken critic of Internet censorship in the past, but this marks the first official codification of the Pauls’ stance on Internet freedom.
The manifesto concludes, “We do not need to reinvent our principles for the web; we only need apply our core principles to it.”