Epoch Times: U.S. Internet Companies Hammered by Lawmakers (Photo)

Epoch Times Washington, D.C. Staff

Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and Microsoft were grilled by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday for their roles in aiding the Chinese communist regime's secret police and propaganda. (Getty Images) High-res image (676 x 400 px, 300 dpi)

Feb 16, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and Microsoft were grilled by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday for their roles in aiding the Chinese communist regime's secret police and propaganda.

"Americans, not just Chinese, are also victims of this censorship," said Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey. "On an informal request from the Chinese [communist regime], Microsoft on December 30, 2005, shut down the blog of Zhao Jing because the contents of Zhao's blog on MSN Spaces was offensive to the PRC... Microsoft shut down the blog not only in China, but everywhere. It not only censored Chinese access to information, but American access to information, a step it has only recently pulled back from."

Smith chairs the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, which is under the House Committee of Foreign Relations. The title of the Feb. 15 hearing was "The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression?"

"Google has said that some information is better than nothing. But in this case, the limited information displayed amounts to disinformation. A half truth is not the truth--it is a lie. And a lie is worse than nothing," said Smith in his opening speech.

"Google's objective is to make the world's information accessible to everyone, everywhere, all the time," said Elliot Schrage, Google's Vice President for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.

"Some governments impose restrictions that make our mission difficult to achieve, and this is what we have encountered in China," he said.

Representatives from Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and Microsoft echoed similar arguments to justify their business practices: in order to do business in China, they have to follow Chinese law.

However, there are serious issues about the Chinese law that the companies are following, according to Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa. Those laws contradict China's constitution and the Chinese communist regime operates outside of the law. "Did you think these through?" he asked.

"In an imperfect world, we had to make an imperfect choice," said Elliot Schrage from Google. He admitted that Google is not comfortable and is not proud of their decisions.

"You indicated that you are not comfortable with your decisions. Are you willing to say that you're ashamed?" asked Rep. Tom Lantos. "I'm asking you a direct question. Are you ashamed?" repeated Lantos.

Cisco's Deals

"Cisco does not customize, or develop specialized or unique filtering capabilities, in order to enable different regimes to block access to information. Cisco sells the same equipment in China as it sells worldwide," said Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, General Counsel.

However, Cisco has provided the Chinese regime with the technology to filter Internet content through its creation of Policenet, according to Smith. "[Its] revenue from China, according to Derek Bambauer of Legal Affairs, is estimated to be $500 million annually.

Yet Cisco has also done little creative thinking to try to minimize the likelihood that its products will be used repressively," he said.

Not all members of the committee agreed on focusing the blame on the U.S. companies.

The U.S. government itself may be more responsible for the current situation, due to its dealings with the Chinese communist regime, according to Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida. He pointed out that the U.S. government gave "most favored nation" status to China, and these U.S. trade policies have greater consequences than these companies' decisions.

However, the big companies are the ones who lobbied to open up the markets in China, according to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California. "We can't let these guys off the hook," he said.

Representatives from Google, Yahoo, Cisco, and Microsoft expressed wishes to work with the U.S. and other governments to resolve issues.

"I intend to introduce The Global Online Freedom Act of 2006 in the coming week to promote freedom of expression on the Internet," said Rep. Chris Smith.

Yuan P. Li, Epoch Times Chief Technical Officer, received a standing ovation as he was introduced by Rohrabacher. Li was instrumental in developing cutting-edge technology to circumvent "The Great Firewall of China." Li was attacked at his Atlanta home on Feb. 8 by armed Chinese communist spies, who stole his laptops and files.

"Mr. Li, you are a hero of freedom," said Rohrabacher.

Source http://english.pochtimes.com/news/6-2-16/38250.html