Democracy Promotion/Soft Power—Affirmative Tentative 1AC
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OtherPlan Solves TTIPTransatlantic relations are shot—NSA transparency is crucial to TTIP success and broader relationsKnigge 13 - Michael Knigge is a reporter in DW's English department. (“NSA surveillance eroded transatlantic trust,” http://www.dw.de/nsa-surveillance-eroded-transatlantic-trust/a-17311216 12/27/2013) STRYKER When the Guardian started reporting on the largest disclosure of secret NSA files in the history of the agency in June, it was only a question of time before the information spill reached America's allies overseas. That's because the NSA's prime duty is to monitor and collect global signals intelligence. The agency is by law prohibited from conducting electronic surveillance on Americans except under special circumstances. In the Guardian's first story on how the NSA was collecting the metadata of phone calls from Verizon, a major US carrier, it was clear that data of European citizens would be involved, since the NSA's secret court order included all calls made from and to the US. But it was the second scoop on the NSA's PRISM program that really blew the story wide open. It revealed that the agency was siphoning off personal data like email, chats and photos from the world's biggest Internet companies including Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo. Everyone affected This revelation did not simply show that everyone using these services was affected by NSA surveillance. It also made it impossible to ignore politically on both sides of the Atlantic. But official reactions in the US were characterized by a strong focus on the leaker Edward Snowden and the alleged damage by his revelations to US national security. European officials meanwhile tried to downplay the relevance of the Snowden disclosures culminating in Chancellor Merkel's chief of staff stating in August that the so-called NSA scandal was now over. Two months and a slew of major disclosures later, news broke that the chancellor's personal mobile phone had been monitored by the NSA. "I think that alone would not have caused that much damage," says Jeremi Suri, a transatlantic relations expert at the University of Texas. "But that revelation in the context of all the other revelations from the documents that Edward Snowden released symbolized for many that the United States saw almost no limits on what it could do. If we would tap into the cell phone of the German leader, one of our closest allies, many people are asking, is there anything we wouldn't do. Are we willing do anything to support our interest?" Turning point The surveillance of Merkel's phone was a game changer in Europe as well as the US. It forced both the White House and Congress to acknowledge that the practices of US intelligence needed closer inspection. It also drove Chancellor Merkel, Europe's most important leader, to publicly take a tougher stance vis-à-vis Washington. Most importantly, it undermined one of the central pillars of the transatlantic relations: trust. "I think the damage is actually quite significant," notes Suri. "One of the most significant accomplishments of the United States after World War II was to build with its European partners a set of relationships were there was presumed trust and a believe that the US was acting in their interest." Snowden's revelations, argues Suri, have eroded the "basis of that relationship and a younger generation of Europeans that are coming of age not necessarily believing that the US is really their partner, but instead perceiving the United States as a big bully with technology using its technology to do whatever it wants. And that's a perception, once held, that's very difficult to eradicate." Revamped relationship Overcoming the transatlantic rift will require to rebuild trust and confidence between both partners again. A success in the current US-EU trade negotiations (TTIP) would be the best symbol of restored trust, argues Klaus Larres, a transatlantic relations scholar at the University of North Carolina: "If the EU and the US can really get their act together and perhaps include some privacy laws into these trade negotiations than that would really demonstrate that transatlantic relations haven't been damaged for good." His colleague Suri is not convinced that this will suffice. The US intelligence services need to become more transparent, he says, so Americans and people around the world know what they are doing. "This is supposed to be an open society and we have in the last 15 years moved away from openness on many of these issues. We need to build credibility and trust by being open not just by apologizing and by saying we won't do this again." Whether that will happen is all but certain. Since taking office Obama has made a U-turn from his very critical stance on US intelligence activities. Politics Link TurnPlan is popular—bipartisan supportGENACHOWSKI and GOLDSTEIN, ’14, (Julius, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission and Gordon M. “'Global' Internet Governance Invites Censorship,” Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2014, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303978304579471670854356630)//erg The Internet is also driving innovation in health care and education world-wide, saving lives and creating economic opportunity for millions. Innovators in Africa have led the way on mobile health initiatives, such as texting services that send health reminders and tips to pregnant women and young mothers. Innovators in Asia are using the Internet and technology to expand literacy and basic skills. South Korea, for example, has pledged to replace all paper textbooks with digital learning by 2015. A censored Internet will choke these opportunities. A flourishing and free Internet, on the other hand, will expand them. A January Boston Consulting Group study of 65 countries found that reducing limitations on online activity, through enhanced broadband connectivity and access, can increase a country's GDP by as much as 2.5%. A fragmented global network encumbered by international regulatory restrictions will only limit this potential for growth. The good news is there's broad, bipartisan support for resisting measures to restrict Internet freedom. In 2012, both houses of Congress unanimously passed resolutions affirming that the policy of the U.S. is "to promote a global Internet free from governmental control." The Icann oversight transition presents a major opportunity to build on that consensus—to preserve and further Internet freedom world-wide. 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