Joining hands with China
p2p news / p2pnet: Recently, Yahoo and Microsoft cynically, "urged the US government to act at an international level to stop foreign governments censoring the online content that their citizens can view and access".
Now, the two companies, together with Google and Cisco, will, "come under unprecedented grilling in Congress" for, "joining hands with China to censor the Internet, despite the proud American tradition of free speech," says Agence France-Press.
On Wednesday, the four are slated to appear before a House of Representatives human rights panel, "which summoned them following public outcry over their compliance with Beijing," says AFP.
By, "complying with China’s demand for censorship" to, "enter the booming Chinese market," some of top US Net firms have in essence have become, "a megaphone for communist propaganda and a tool for controlling public opinion," the story has co-chair Chris Smith saying.
"The Republican Representative from New Jersey, who heads the House subcommittee on global human rights and international operations, is drafting legislation imposing curbs on Internet companies seeking to expand into China," says AFP.
State Department officials have also been summoned to explain Washington’s stand on the issue at the one-day hearing.’
But, adds AFP, "laws regulating the activities of Internet companies should only be a last resort, cautioned media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, suggesting instead a code of ethics that upholds freedom of expression.
"For example, if US companies sell Internet censorship software to repressive states, they would have to incorporate a list of "protected" keywords rendered technically impossible to censor, said Lucie Morillon, the group’s Washington director."
Meanwhile, a Valentine Day No Luv 4 Google boycott has been launched for tomorrow – February 14..
Also See:
view and access – MS, Yahoo, on China business, February 2, 2006
Agence France-Press – US Congress set to grill Internet companies over China clampdown, February 12, 2006
No Luv 4 Google – Boycott Google Day, February 13, 2006
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