German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of the consequences of a closed-door Internet policy.
"We may have an increasingly fragmented Internet," Merkel said on Tuesday at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Berlin, warning that global infrastructure could become unstable and vulnerable to attacks.
The German chancellor added that the results would also be intensified citizen surveillance, government filtering and increased censorship of information, and warned that it is also possible to shut down the Internet and mobile networks in order to impede citizens´ communication.
Merkel also warned that such attacks could prevent people from gaining basic rights to information and communication.
The German chancellor appealed to officials at the forum to protect the essence of the Internet as a global public good, and stressed that action must be taken across the borders of nations, in order to maintain decentralized Internet beyond the borders.
Merkel said the future of the Internet should also not be shaped by individual countries and governments. "Because the fundamental issues about the Internet are ultimately about each of us," she said, calling for inclusive participation of civil society and the scientific and economic community. What".
