Rosenworcel points to ITU presidency as evidence of importance of the vision of free-market democracies in tech

5G and other advanced technologies can be used to support and promote free markets, democracy and innovation, or exploited for “social control and information operations” by authoritarian governments—so regulatory governance around communications technology and spectrum isn’t just a bureaucratic hurdle but is “actually a very powerful national security lever,” said Clete Johnson, a non-resident senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies during a D.C. event yesterday. “We the United States, and our allies in the market democratic world, should wield that to advance our values,” he continued, adding, “We in the free-market, democratic world are competing with the [People’s Republic of China], Russia and other authoritarian regimes on these technologies, and the real question for us now is, will the future be one of freedom and innovation, or one of surveillance and control? It really is a fork in the road.”

Johnson was introducing Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and referencing a CSIS paper due out this week on the role of next-generation connectivity and the future of free-market democracies and autocracies, both of which are seeking global leadership in technology.

In that context, according to Rosenworcel, the recent election of Doreen Bogdan-Martin as the first woman to hold the position of International TelecommunicationsSecretary-General, and only the second U.S. citizen to hold the post, is important—especially considering that her opponent was a Russian citizen and one-time Huawei executive, and she was replacing a Chinese national who held the post for eight years.

“At stake was control of the agency responsible for setting standards for emerging technologies like 5G. This is no small thing,” Rosenworcel said at the CSIS event. “Because those standards can support democratic values—or suppress them. … There is intense competition underway to shape what comes next. And at the heart of that competition is how next-generation 5G networks are deployed and evolve.”

The opportunities that 5G presents, she continued, “reveal broader geopolitical challenges.

Because, let’s be honest, the United States and authoritarian regimes have different views on how to use 5G technology. The vision that succeeds in a global forum like the ITU matters. It will inform how networks are deployed and evolve around the world.”

It also means that there needs to be a national security focus on 5G, the chairwoman continued, in terms of cybersecurity, support for trusted network vendors and blocking of risky equipment and software, and closer scrutiny of foreign ownership as well as crucial coordination across government agencies for a holistic approach. The FCC, she said, “is doing more to address network security than at any point in its history.” Among the agency’s actions under her leadership, she highlighted federal agency coordination, cooperation and information sharing in multiple new and revived forums, actions that the agency has taken on equipment security to block certain Chinese vendors and close loopholes on device certification, and rulemakings underway regarding network resiliency requirements, as well as requirements around information security for subscribers’ personal data.