Are Google, MSN & Yahoo! Violating Export Controls?
What are “export controls?” Well, they prevent companies from selling certain types of technology to other nations. Nuclear weapons and anthrax weaponizing technologies are probably on the list of tech that you can't export regardless of the profit to be made. Don't you think that the technology that China is importing from MicroGoogYa to censor the Internet and capture thought-criminals might be that type of technology that we ought not to export?
Let's theorize — why do we prevent export of military tech? It might be used against us!
Why does the Chinese oligarchy censor the speech of its people? To consolidate their hold on power!
Does the use of MicroGoogYa technology assist them in consolidating their hold on power? Yes!
Is the Chinese consolidation of non-democratic power over its people in our national interest? I don't think so — our official policy is that democracy makes the world more peaceful, fairer and safer, and that tyranny has the reverse effect.
Therefore, call your Congressperson, and call Bill Gates, Terry Semel, and Sergei Bryn and tell them to KNOCK IT OFF! Tell them we know damn well if they'll censor the Chinese, they'll censor us. All they need is a ruling from the FCC or a lawsuit from the RIAA and they'll be snipping and clipping our data like Big Brother's own Ministry of Information.
[quote="Foster Klug“]US Firms Face Question Over China Internet
Associated Press
Four U.S. Internet companies eager for a foothold in China face hard questions from lawmakers worried that the communist regime is using American technology to crush political dissent.
Rep. Chris Smith said Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. are ”enabling dictatorship“ by helping China censor the Internet.
”Cooperation with tyranny should not be embraced for the sake of profits,“ said Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on global human rights.
Smith was among several lawmakers from both political parties who said they would use a congressional hearing Wednesday to convey their qualms to executives of the four companies, which have drawn strong criticism for their operations in China.
U.S. tech companies eyeing China face a dilemma, analysts say: While keen to tap a market that could soon eclipse America's, they must also worry about the perception they're helping China harass dissidents.
”They are in an extremely dicey position,“ said John Palfrey, a Harvard Law School professor who studies the Internet.
The potential for profit is great. China is estimated to have more than 100 million Internet users.
But to do business, U.S. companies must satisfy a government that fiercely polices Internet content. Filters block objectionable foreign Web sites and regulations ban what the Chinese consider subversive and pornographic content, requiring service providers to enforce censorship.
A survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists called China's efforts to control its media ”unique in the world's history.“
”Never have so many lines of communication in the hands of so many people been met with such obsessive resistance from a central authority,“ the report said.
China says its aims are benign — to protect its citizens, and especially children, from ”the immoral and harmful content“ of the Internet.
Critics say the limits China imposes go further and are aided by U.S. companies. They point to a new Google search engine that censors some results. Yahoo!, they say, helped police identify and convict a journalist who had criticized human rights abuses.
U.S. businesses that have adopted Chinese Internet standards say they must obey local laws. They lack the leverage, they say, to influence world governments.
Lawmakers and observers have a different view.
”The hugely successful businesses that come before Congress ... will have to account for their complicity in China's culture of repression, and to begin to make amends,“ Rep. Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said Tuesday.
Robert Dietz, who monitors Asia for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said other repressive regimes are closely watching the way the U.S. Internet companies act in China. What happens with China's Internet, he said, probably will serve as a model elsewhere.
”We sense that people are standing back, watching the technology evolve, watching the attitude evolve, seeing how far countries can go in pushing their ... Internet censorship,“ he said. ”We don't think this will end in China."[/quote]
[quote="Andy Sullivan“]
State Dept. to push for online free speech
Tue Feb 14, 4:27 PM ET
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had set up a task force to help U.S. technology companies protect freedom of expression in countries like China that censor online content.
State Department officials said they will push to encourage foreign countries to allow greater freedom of expression online and help U.S. businesses figure out what to do when called on to enforce repressive laws in countries where they operate.
”Many technology companies ... want to work to help those who lack the freedom that we often take for granted,“ said Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, a member of the task force. ”If we band together, we can make significant progress on this issue.“
Several U.S. tech companies that operate in China have faced criticism in recent months for helping China enforce censorship laws and track down government critics who communicate online.
Microsoft Corp. pulled the Web log, or blog, of a critic of the Chinese government after getting a government order to do so, and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) has been criticized for helping Chinese authorities link journalist Shi Tao to a U.S.-based Web site, leading to a 10-year prison sentence for Shi.
Google Inc.'s Chinese search engine blocks many terms associated with topics related to democracy or independence for Tibet and Taiwan.
All three companies applauded the task force.
”This embraces the government-to-government approach that we've been urging,“ Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said.
The three companies, along with Cisco Systems Inc., are scheduled to address the issue at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
An online civil-liberties advocate said the United States can exert much more influence on foreign governments than individual companies can on their own.
”If the government is going to figure out how to use its powers to help these companies, then that's probably a good thing," said Leslie Harris, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.
Harris said that the United States will need to push back to ensure that China's censored version of the Internet does not become a global standard. [/quote]
“No we will not do that. No we will not help you opress your people. No we will not prostitute ourselves. No we will not take your blood-stained money.”
But then, expecting any corporation to turn down a business opportunity that is “legal”, no matter how disgustingly sordid, is like expecting turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving, isn't it.
Let's theorize — why do we prevent export of military tech? It might be used against us!
Why does the Chinese oligarchy censor the speech of its people? To consolidate their hold on power!
Does the use of MicroGoogYa technology assist them in consolidating their hold on power? Yes!
Is the Chinese consolidation of non-democratic power over its people in our national interest? I don't think so — our official policy is that democracy makes the world more peaceful, fairer and safer, and that tyranny has the reverse effect.
Therefore, call your Congressperson, and call Bill Gates, Terry Semel, and Sergei Bryn and tell them to KNOCK IT OFF! Tell them we know damn well if they'll censor the Chinese, they'll censor us. All they need is a ruling from the FCC or a lawsuit from the RIAA and they'll be snipping and clipping our data like Big Brother's own Ministry of Information.
[quote="Foster Klug“]US Firms Face Question Over China Internet
Associated Press
Four U.S. Internet companies eager for a foothold in China face hard questions from lawmakers worried that the communist regime is using American technology to crush political dissent.
Rep. Chris Smith said Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. are ”enabling dictatorship“ by helping China censor the Internet.
”Cooperation with tyranny should not be embraced for the sake of profits,“ said Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on global human rights.
Smith was among several lawmakers from both political parties who said they would use a congressional hearing Wednesday to convey their qualms to executives of the four companies, which have drawn strong criticism for their operations in China.
U.S. tech companies eyeing China face a dilemma, analysts say: While keen to tap a market that could soon eclipse America's, they must also worry about the perception they're helping China harass dissidents.
”They are in an extremely dicey position,“ said John Palfrey, a Harvard Law School professor who studies the Internet.
The potential for profit is great. China is estimated to have more than 100 million Internet users.
But to do business, U.S. companies must satisfy a government that fiercely polices Internet content. Filters block objectionable foreign Web sites and regulations ban what the Chinese consider subversive and pornographic content, requiring service providers to enforce censorship.
A survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists called China's efforts to control its media ”unique in the world's history.“
”Never have so many lines of communication in the hands of so many people been met with such obsessive resistance from a central authority,“ the report said.
China says its aims are benign — to protect its citizens, and especially children, from ”the immoral and harmful content“ of the Internet.
Critics say the limits China imposes go further and are aided by U.S. companies. They point to a new Google search engine that censors some results. Yahoo!, they say, helped police identify and convict a journalist who had criticized human rights abuses.
U.S. businesses that have adopted Chinese Internet standards say they must obey local laws. They lack the leverage, they say, to influence world governments.
Lawmakers and observers have a different view.
”The hugely successful businesses that come before Congress ... will have to account for their complicity in China's culture of repression, and to begin to make amends,“ Rep. Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said Tuesday.
Robert Dietz, who monitors Asia for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said other repressive regimes are closely watching the way the U.S. Internet companies act in China. What happens with China's Internet, he said, probably will serve as a model elsewhere.
”We sense that people are standing back, watching the technology evolve, watching the attitude evolve, seeing how far countries can go in pushing their ... Internet censorship,“ he said. ”We don't think this will end in China."[/quote]
[quote="Andy Sullivan“]
State Dept. to push for online free speech
Tue Feb 14, 4:27 PM ET
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had set up a task force to help U.S. technology companies protect freedom of expression in countries like China that censor online content.
State Department officials said they will push to encourage foreign countries to allow greater freedom of expression online and help U.S. businesses figure out what to do when called on to enforce repressive laws in countries where they operate.
”Many technology companies ... want to work to help those who lack the freedom that we often take for granted,“ said Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, a member of the task force. ”If we band together, we can make significant progress on this issue.“
Several U.S. tech companies that operate in China have faced criticism in recent months for helping China enforce censorship laws and track down government critics who communicate online.
Microsoft Corp. pulled the Web log, or blog, of a critic of the Chinese government after getting a government order to do so, and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) has been criticized for helping Chinese authorities link journalist Shi Tao to a U.S.-based Web site, leading to a 10-year prison sentence for Shi.
Google Inc.'s Chinese search engine blocks many terms associated with topics related to democracy or independence for Tibet and Taiwan.
All three companies applauded the task force.
”This embraces the government-to-government approach that we've been urging,“ Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said.
The three companies, along with Cisco Systems Inc., are scheduled to address the issue at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
An online civil-liberties advocate said the United States can exert much more influence on foreign governments than individual companies can on their own.
”If the government is going to figure out how to use its powers to help these companies, then that's probably a good thing," said Leslie Harris, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.
Harris said that the United States will need to push back to ensure that China's censored version of the Internet does not become a global standard. [/quote]
Creating Peace
I need to send a letter to you that I'm sending to all elected officials and more but this box won't work. Email is cheaper than fax. Can you provide? THanks: Are Google, MSN & Yahoo! Violating Export Controls?
You may send to ramonesfreak@gmail.com.They had a choice
They could have just said “No”.“No we will not do that. No we will not help you opress your people. No we will not prostitute ourselves. No we will not take your blood-stained money.”
But then, expecting any corporation to turn down a business opportunity that is “legal”, no matter how disgustingly sordid, is like expecting turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving, isn't it.