Microsoft considers China policy

BBC News (via Drudge) ^ | November 2, 2006 | Darren Waters

[HAL9000]

A senior executive for Microsoft has said the firm could pull out of non-democratic countries such as China.

Fred Tipson, senior policy counsel for the computer giant, said concerns over the repressive regime might force it to reconsider its business in China.

"Things are getting bad... and perhaps we have to look again at our presence there," he told a conference in Athens.

"We have to decide if the persecuting of bloggers reaches a point that it's unacceptable to do business there."

"We try to define those levels and the trends are not good there at the moment. It's a moving target."

Selling to China

Earlier in the day, speaking at the Internet Governance Forum, Mr Tipson had defended the work Microsoft was doing in China.

At a session about openness he denied that some big businesses were "colluding" with certain governments.

He was joined in the debate by Art Reilly, senior director at Cisco Systems.

As the only two representatives of major business sat on the panel, they were the focus of accusations from some delegates that the companies were not doing all they could to enable freedom of expression.

Cisco was attacked at the forum for selling equipment to police in China, while Microsoft has been criticised for allegedly censoring blogs in the country.

Mr Tipson said: "We are maximising access to information to users in governments that Amnesty is targeting for its criticism.

"It's those users we have to keep our focus on."

Mr Reilly, senior director of strategic technology policy at Cisco was asked if the firm had any ethical problems with an alleged sale of router equipment to the Chinese police.

Human rights activists are concerned that the technology is being misused by some governments to track the online activities of people and to filter dissident comment.

He said: "We do not sell a different product in one country to another.

"It is essential that there are security and network management capabilities in a network that enable the free flow of information - it is the same technology used by parents and libraries to prevent children from accessing pornography for example."

He added: "We are not colluding with any country to do any specific filtering."

He said that he was not familiar with the sale of "any product to any particular entity in China".

Mr Tipson said it was a condition of companies to abide by the local laws in countries with whom they do business.

Mr Reilly said that here had been a "substantial increase in use and ability for information to flow in China" since Cisco entered the Chinese market in 1994.

There are now 120 million people online in China, up from 80,000 in 1994.

Advancing human rights

"The economic value in the internet is driving growth and development in educational opportunities [in China]," said Mr Tipson.

"Openness is often too segmented too narrowly into a discussion around freedom of speech," he added.

Mr Tipson said it was "critical not to portray the internet as a threat to governments".

"The internet is transforming the political culture of China. There is no question about it."

Fellow panellist, Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of professional body APC, said: "I don't think we should make corporations responsible for securing our freedoms."

She said governments should be enforcing ethical policies on companies that are doing business with foreign governments.

There was also a feeling expressed by some that the internet was making progress as a tool for advancing human rights.

Andrew Puddephatt, who has worked for various human rights organisations, said: "Where access exists you can definitely get information and ideas on the net that you cannot get on conventional media. That is progress."

[aynrandfreak]

This has more chance of changing China's policies than any lefty human rights campaigns.

[snowsislander]

Fred Tipson, senior policy counsel for the computer giant, said concerns over the repressive regime might force it to reconsider its business in China.

If Microsoft were to pull its business out of Red China, I would be surprised but certainly pleased.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Interesting change in events.

Wonder WTH is going on in Redmond?

IB4GE...8^)

[monkeywrench]

The pirating is getting to alot of people worldwide. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20061029a1.html

[indthkr]

bump

[RonF]

It so happens that two days ago I had the privilege of conducting an interview with a young lady, a high school senior, who is applying to be accepted at MIT. Her parents brought her to the U.S. when she was 8 from China. She is thoroughly American and obviously quite intelligent. Her parents went to quite a bit of effort to ensure that she attended Chinese school for years, so she speaks both English and Chinese like a native.

During the course of our interview, she told me about her first trip to China since she left, which was last summer. She was met at the airport by her cousin, who promptly told her "I hate America." She asked him why, and was told "Because that's what I'm told on the news." She told me that she tried to show him some information on the Internet, only to find that there is a firewall around the entire country and that access to the sites she wanted to show him were not allowed.

She told me that she felt sorry for him. "He's surrounded by a bubble, and he'll never have the chance to break out." She told me that she wants to go to MIT to get a degree in International Business. My interview report about her to MIT contained my highest recommendation.

Do you sometimes despair about our young generation based on what you read and hear? Try interviewing a few of the type of kids that are applying to get into MIT; it'll raise your spirits.

[SaltyJoe]

There's only so much that tyranny can repress. Furthermore, it's extremely easy to "smuggle" information through firewalls and real physical barriers. Heck, the media we can carry in a simple jump drive far surpasses what dinosaurs we stood in awe of a decade ago.

The ruling class in China had better re-exam how soundly they'll be laughed off so that they can get the jump on their changing world and change with it. Otherwise, by the time the 2008 Olympics reveal Beijing's rulers, the nation will be a laughing stock as it stands naked without Grace.

[GretchenM]

I am such a skeptic -- I get the impression there's a lot more (marketwise) to this story than the suppression of bloggers in China.

[printhead]

I was under the impression that pirated copies of Windows far exceed sold copies over there.

[RonF]

From what I've been reading in the National Geographic, Bejing may well have some problems with air pollution and dust storms in their Olympic venues.

Bejing has been getting a lot of help from Google, Yahoo and Cisco in handling their "security" problems. Smuggling info through firewalls and physical barriers is a lot easier in cultures such as ours where you won't get shot if you get caught. Eventually it'll catch up with them, but this young lady may be closer to my age than to her present one before the change comes.

[SaltyJoe]

Seems that if Microsoft is serious about pulling out, it wouldn't take too much of a nudge to help them.

For example, a simple caption to the photos in the link might say,

"Thank you Bill Gates for helping us capture these criminal bloggers. Sharing opinions counter to the State is expressly forbidden and these rebels should have known better. But your security technology GIVEN to us so cheaply has made our way of rule more stable and we can resist outside influence and inside change from wicked dissidents. Though we don't like to admit using foreign barbarians, we just have to say that it couldn't have been done without your enthusiastic help. Because of your vast service to our national control, we can continue to provide cheap products and services that benefit our convenient relationship. We also love that you continually turn a blind eye to these silly "intellectual property" arguments and foolish "copy right" laws. Ha ha ha, what good are they anyway?!

Thank you Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Cisco, etc.

Love, CCP"

PS, You understand that if any jerk who attempts to steal our national intellectual copyright stuff will be shot in the back of the head with a large caliber bullet...right? Just want you to know who the b!tch is in this relationship. Okay? So, get back to work on my next software patch and updates. What are you waiting for? Back to work. Now!

CCP

http://www.chinasupport.net/site.php?page=buzz30

[andyahoo]

This article said microsoft denies the BBC report.

"Microsoft (Quote) is denying a report from the British Broadcasting Corp. that the company was considering withdrawing from China due to the hard-line government's repressive treatment of technology users."


http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3642001