U.S. tech firms that aid China censors to face scrutiny

Paul Eckert   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other SOA & Web Services Stories  

Implementing KM: Practitioners Share Best Practices Enhancing Online Sales and Support: New Research Reveals What Works - and What Doesn't Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

January 27, 2006 (Reuters) -- WASHINGTON -- Google Inc.'s decision to block politically sensitive terms on its new Chinese search site has drawn the scrutiny of U.S. lawmakers, who next month will question U.S. technology companies that help Beijing's censors.
Representatives from Google and other Internet companies have been called to a Congressional Human Rights Caucus hearing on Wednesday and to a Feb. 16 session of the House of Representatives subcommittee on global human rights.
The hearings follow Google's announcement Tuesday that the company will block taboo terms in China such as democracy, Tibet and Falun Gong, and not offer e-mail, chat and weblog publishing services that could be used for political protest (see "Google to launch censored results in China").
Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chairman of the human rights subcommittee, has invited Google, Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., as well as State Department officials and press freedom watchdog groups, to the Feb 16. hearing, he said in a statement.
Smith, a frequent critic of China's human rights practices, seized on Google's corporate motto, "Don't be evil," saying in a statement that the firm "would enable evil by cooperating with China's censorship policies just to make a buck."
Smith told Reuters, "The question is not whether companies should be promoting democracy. The real question is, Should they partner with the secret police in cracking down on dissidents and enabling human rights abuses?"

Code of conduct
Freedom-of-speech advocates, who have been critical of U.S. companies that have accommodated Chinese authorities, are pressing for U.S. legislation establishing a code of conduct for Internet companies working in countries deemed repressive in annual U.S. State Department human rights reports.
"Our lobbying within the United States is calling for a bipartisan effort to support us in getting the legislation passed," said Tala Dowlatshahi, the New York representative of Reporters Without Borders, a France-based watchdog group.
She said the group was also pressing shareholder groups of those companies to insist on upholding "ethics, principles and universal standards" enshrined in the Geneva Convention.
The legislation envisioned by Reporters Without Borders was spelled out in a Jan. 6 online campaign and calls on U.S. companies to refrain from hosting e-mail servers, filtering search engines, blogs and discussion forums in repressive countries.
The proposal would either ban U.S. companies from selling Internet censorship software to repressive states or force them to make censorship of some terms impossible.
It would also require companies to get Department of Commerce permission to sell Internet censorship equipment or conduct related training in countries deemed repressive by the State Department.
In Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told Reuters that China's government had already been censoring the search engine.
The decision to block sensitive terms on the China site "is not something I enjoy," Brin said, "but I think it was a reasonable decision."

Reprinted with permission from

This article is reprinted by permission from Reuters.com, Copyright (c) 2006 Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. For additional information on other Reuters Services, visit the Reuters public Web site.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"It's IT Blogwatch: in which Mozilla's Firefox Web browser continues to gain market share, smashing records as it does so...." Read more... "Microsoft today announced new security features for Internet Explorer 8, on the same day that a survey shows that Firefox..." Read more... Read more Internet posts or See all Blogs

Lithuania: Attacks focused on hosting company Google bows to pressure, adds 'Privacy' link to home page Microsoft promises four patches next week More top stories...

Google gives away home-cooked Web application security scanner Expect iPhone, Fourth of July scams, security firm says Microsoft trumpets security additions in upcoming IE8

This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how. Bill Gates moves on Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft. Five things you should never tell your boss There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss. Hands-On: Firefox 3 fixes what's broke and keeps what's right With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Download this webcast, free, compliments of Sterling Commerce Go to the webcast  Virtualization Everywhere Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix. (Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier. In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now! Download this white paper  Sold on SOA (Source: Computerworld) It's the hot technology for most large companies, but business, technical and cultural issues must be addressed for a successful SOA implementation. Get the whole story, from the big picture to the how-to-do-it details, in this Executive Bulletin. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for Free, compliments of Fujitsu. Download this executive briefing  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Deploying Virtualized NetWare on Linux Whitepaper Toward More Flexible, Next-Generation Collaboration Solutions Driving Business Success Through Workgroup Choice and Flexibility View more whitepapers

• Lithuania: Attacks focused on hosting company
• Google bows to pressure, adds 'Privacy' link to home page
• Microsoft promises four patches next week
• More top stories 

Detect, identify, and locate RF interference in 802.11 WLANs. AnalyzeAir software provides IT network professionals with the vision they need into the hidden world of RF, providing them with the ability to see the spectrum in a visible and intelligible format. AnalyzeAir software lets you see, monitor, analyze, and manage all the RF sources and wireless devices that influence your Wi-Fi network's performance and security, even if those devices are unauthorized or transient. AnalyzeAir Trial Software v3.1 highlights the features found in AnalyzeAir Software using a set of saved spectrum files. Replay the data and experience the visibility that AnalyzeAir Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer provides. Note: The trial software is limited to a player version only. It does not communicate with an AnalyzeAir PC card so it does not collect actual spectrum data. Register for this trial now.

Try Fluke Networks' EtherScope Analyzer on your network FREE Quickly solve the wide range of problems you encounter - 10, 100 and Gigabit, twisted pair and optical fiber, LAN or wireless LAN. The EtherScope Analyzer combines the essential tools you need to monitor network traffic and switch interfaces, discover devices, networks, VLANs, access points, mobile clients and more. See the power of this portable network analyzer on your network. Request free trial now *Terms and conditions: Evaluation units are available only for a limited time and will be scheduled on a first-come first-served basis. Not available in all geographies. Limited quantities available; customers requesting evaluation units may be waitlisted for the next available unit. It will be at the discretion of Fluke Networks to accept or decline requests for this free evaluation.