Opinion | A free and open internet could hinge on this obscure election - The Wa...

A little-known election will be held Thursday for the top post at the International Telecommunication Union — the U.N. agency that facilitates international connectivity in communications networks and is responsible for setting standards for emerging technology.

The candidates represent two very different visions for the future of our global internet. The election pits Doreen Bogdan-Martin, a veteran U.S. diplomat with a track record of expanding internet access, against Rashid Ismailov, a Putin-backed former Russian deputy minister of telecommunications and mass communications and former Huawei Technologies executive. Should Ismailov win, he would serve as a conduit for the government of Russia’s internet policy goals, which historically have included censoring dissent.

The internet has remained largely open and free because of deliberate policy choices by the United States, our allies and multilateral standard-setting bodies that value free speech.

Our adversaries are eager to dismantle this model. Just last year, Russia and China signed a joint statement committing to preserve “the sovereign right of States to regulate the national segment of the internet”— in other words, the right of states to censor political dissidents. Last year, at least 48 countries pursued new restrictions on content, data and technology, in many cases attempting to subdue free expression and gain greater access to private data.

This is the vision Russia and China are trying to bring to the internet. One of China’s Huawei-supported proposals for the International Telecommunication Union would fundamentally redesign internet protocol (IP) addresses into a less secure, state-controlled model. Since its invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia has significantly tightened its digital information space by blocking more than 2,384 websites and passing a law punishing citizens who spread “false information.”

As we look to the future, the United States must partner with our allies to set standards for emerging tech such as 5G, artificial intelligence, data surveillance and patent reform. And our leaders must ensure that Russia and China play by the same rules.

Today, the U.S. tech sector leads the way in exporting technology abroad that embodies a commitment to a free and open internet. If we cede this leadership and hand the keys to the internet to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, we risk jeopardizing our economic and national security as well as freedom across the globe.