Internet Giants Accused of Collaborating with China's Internet Controls

As senior executives from Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and Cisco testified at congressional hearings, they were accused of greedily collaborating with China's efforts to control internet access and track down dissidents. The companies' representatives argued that shunning China over its human-rights record would be even worse, claiming that the benefits of engaging with the Chinese market outweigh the costs. However, critics argue that the companies' actions have enabled China's cyberpolice to monitor the internet in near-real-time, often leading to the arrest and imprisonment of dissidents.

Key Takeaways:

• Yahoo has been singled out for co-operating with Chinese police, handing over information that led to the identification and imprisonment of at least two dissidents, including writer Li Zhi, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2003, and Shi Tao, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets.
• Google has refused to offer e-mail or host blogs in China, fearing it could be forced to hand over incriminating details about users, but has still been accused of collaborating with China's internet-censorship policies.
• Microsoft and other companies have claimed that staying engaged in China is better for human rights than pulling out, citing the benefits of the Chinese market.
• Critics, including Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at Berkeley, have accused the companies of aiding or complying with China's internet-censorship policies to gain a presence in the Chinese market.
• Harry Wu, a former political prisoner, testified that U.S. technology was likely involved in enabling China's cyberpolice to track his internet surfing while at an internet cafe in a remote city in Xinjiang province.

Statistics:

• At least two dissidents, including writer Li Zhi and Shi Tao, were identified and imprisoned due to information provided by Yahoo to Chinese authorities.
• Profits from the Chinese market are seen as a motivating factor for companies engaging with China, despite human rights concerns.
• Google has refused to offer e-mail or host blogs in China, fearing it could be forced to hand over incriminating details about users.

Sources:

• [1] Byline: PAUL KORING WASHINGTON -- Internet giants Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and Cisco were accused yesterday at congressional hearings of greedily collaborating with China's efforts to control Internet access and to track down dissidents. "Your abhorrent actions in China are a disgrace," said Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California. As senior executives from the four Internet companies visibly squirmed, Mr. Lantos -- the only Holocaust survivor in the House of Representatives -- reminded them that International Business Machines had helped count Jews for the Nazis.
• [2] Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at Berkeley, testified that "It has become painfully clear to the American public in recent months that some of this country's leading information technology companies, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco, who are here today, have, to differing degrees, aided or complied with China's Internet-censorship policies, in order to gain a presence in the lucrative China market."
• [3] Harry Wu, a former political prisoner, testified that "A friend of mine recently tried to access some politically sensitive websites while at an Internet cafe in a remote, small city in Xinjiang province, and the police quickly showed up to arrest him. I don't know who supplied the technology enabling the police to track my friend's Internet surfing, but I am pretty sure that U.S. technology was involved."
• [4] Liu Zhengrong, deputy chief of the Internet-affairs bureau of the State Council information office, stated that "Regulating the Internet according to law is international practice, and it is unfair and smacks of double standards when [foreigners] criticize China for deleting illegal and harmful messages, while it is legal for U.S. websites to do so."