Congress Looks Askance at Firms That Bow to China

cnet news ^ | 1-31-06

[at bay]

After hearing reports that American tech giants like Microsoft and Yahoo are abiding by Chinese law mandating Internet censorship, some irritated U.S. politicians are threatening to pass laws restricting such cooperation.

Rep. Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, said Thursday that the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Human Rights, which he heads, will hold a hearing in early to mid- February. Smith has invited representatives from the U.S. State Department, Microsoft, Yahoo, Cisco Systems, Google, and the international watchdog group Reporters Without Borders to speak.

The effort is designed to determine what can be done, either by legislative mandate or on a voluntary basis, to "dissociate a company from working hand-in-glove with a dictatorship," Smith said in a telephone interview with CNET News.com.

A similar hearing is planned for Feb. 1 in the Congressional Human Rights Caucus said Ryan Keating, communications director for Rep. Tim Ryan, the Ohio Democrat leading the parallel effort. The caucus, unlike the human rights subcommittee, is an "informal" committee that is overseen by about 30 House members and includes a few hundred others, Smith among them, as supporting members.

As first reported by the Boston Globe, both Ryan and Smith are in the process of concocting new laws. These will likely take cues from recommendations issued by Reporters Without Borders and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a 12-member, congressionally-selected governmental panel.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders this week backed a law banning an American company from hosting an e-mail server in any "repressive" country. It's also suggested that American corporations come up with a joint plan for how to handle censorship requests from foreign governments, including refusal to censor terms like "democracy" and "human rights."

[at bay]

Sickening that it had to come to this. "The chair recognizes Mr. Congressman..." Mr. Congressman: So Mr. Byrne, what part of the word "evil" did you not understand?

[Sidebar Moderator]

do you have a better link?

[at bay]

This is the single greatest affront to our way of life I have ever endured in my lifetime.

[Tyche]

Old article from a different source. Same info.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6026733.html

[joesnuffy]

Why wouldn't they? ...they looked 'askance' at presidents who sold them defense secrets...secrets they will one day sell to Iran (if they haven't already) and other terror states that will use them against our own troops...

Unless,of course, they don't use them against us first.

imo

[at bay]

You're right, I overlooked the date, thinking it was a new link because it came from another article today on Google. Hope it wasn't posted before.

[ndt]

"After hearing reports that American tech giants like Microsoft and Yahoo are abiding by Chinese law mandating Internet censorship, some irritated U.S. politicians are threatening to pass laws restricting such cooperation."

Yes, lets pass a law that says that U.S. corporations do not have to abide by local laws when working in foreign nations. That will fly. Not...

[BubbaTheRocketScientist]

Yes, lets pass a law that says that U.S. corporations do not have to abide by local laws when working in foreign nations. That will fly. Not...

No, let's pass a law that US corporations are not allowed to do business with Communist dictatorships. Reagan didn't bring down the USSR with "free trade".

[zeugma]

Getting congress involved in this is a bad idea IMO. Come to think of it, getting congress involved in much of anything is a bad idea. I'd like to think that if we can keep the heat up on all these companies kowtowing to the chinese, they might rethink their need to be in the chinese censorship business.

[ndt]

"No, let's pass a law that US corporations are not allowed to do business with Communist dictatorships."

When did we revoke most favored nation status? Cart - Horse

"Reagan didn't bring down the USSR with "free trade"."

And how is that bastion of democracy doing these days?

[T.L.Sink]

I think it's outrageous that Microsoft and Yahoo - in the name of profit - should cave to Communist China. This would be analagous to private broadcasters saying during the Cold War that they wouldn't transmit Radio Free Europe because it violated Soviet "law". The internet can be a marvelous way of communicating the vitality and free exchange of democratic ideas and values to people who are deprived of any information outside their closed society. The ChiComs have their name on 80% of our merchandise already - are we going to also let them control the transmission of international free thought?

[ponder life]

I think a free media is always healthy for a society. It holds those in positions of power accountable and allows a society to prosper. However, I tend to be suspicious about the motive of legislation that directly target companies that do business specifically in China. I'm sure US corporations in places like the Middle East have to abide by laws that placate the leadership there as well. But we don't question those business dealings. We only question companies doing business in China. China is not the only non-democratic country that US corporations do business with.

If the legislation, like the one descibed in the article, is to simply prevent tech companies from expanding their prescence into China, then I don't support it. But if the goal is to help China build a freer society and thereby a more prosperous society, then I'm all for it.

A freer society is a more prosperous society. One where people are able to think freely and develop new ideas. New ideas and innovation strengthens a country and increases wealth.

Those with the wrong motive for pushing through this type of legislation may end up getting what they want in the short term (a China that is more transparent and abides by the rules of a free media), but in the long run getting what they don't want (a more tech saavy China).