[2][3] Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind.

You have no sovereignty where we gather.The declaration sets out, in sixteen short paragraphs, a rebuttal to government of the Internet by any outside force, specifically the United States.

It does this in language evocative of the United States Declaration of Independence and obliquely cites it in its final paragraphs.

Although the paper mentions the Telecommunications Act, it also accuses China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, and Italy of stifling the Internet.

[9] The declaration's assertion that 'cyberspace' is a place removed from the physical world has also been challenged by people who point to the fact that the Internet is always linked to its underlying geography.

Larry Irving, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, said that a lack of safeguards would "slow down the growth of what is likely to be a major boon for consumers and business".