Rubio to Keynote Free State Foundation Summit

Was outspoken on preventing ITU conference from Dubai from morphing into Internet governance treaty

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2013 10:15:09 AM

Senate Communications Subcommittee member Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been mentioned as a possible presidential or vice presidential candidate, will be the keynote speaker for the Free State Foundation's telecom policy conference.

Rubio will speak March 21 at the National Press Club in Washington.

The theme of this year's conference is "Completing the Transition to a Digital World: How to Finish the Job and Why It Matters."

Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2010. His committee assignments also include foreign relations; intelligence and small business and entrepreneurship.

Rubio spoke out against efforts by China, Russia and others to expand UN telecom treaty at an ITU conference in Dubai last month into Internet governance -- the U.S. ultimately refused to sign the new treaty in protest -- and has said there remains work to do in this country and elsewhere "to show some of our allies and other developing countries how freedom and multistakeholder governance have enabled the Internet to thrive."