Comments on: The China Internet debate's going nowhere

CNET News.com's Charles Cooper says too many interested parties have a stake in maintaining the status quo.

[Z4ns4tsu]

Did Yahoo! really do anything wrong?

From what I have heard and read, Yahoo! did nothing more than respond to a government subpoena for information and provided no more than they would have been required to if the US Government aquired a warrant for the same information. We can not ask or expect Yahoo! to go into any foreign market and attempt to do business if Congress tells them that they can not respond to a legal warrant issued by that foreign market's government. There appears to me to be a double standard in place: you can get their money, but only follow their laws if we like them...but any company of theirs that tries to do business here better follow our laws, or we'll kick them out.

Same Argument Was Used at Nurmeburg

"We were only following orders," is disingenuous at best. It ignores the fact that we have (theoretically) a popularly elected government and if we don;t like their tactics we can throw the bastards out periodically. China is an oligarchy ? a totalitarian, violently repressive regime ? and for a US company to hand over information that any reasonable person would have assumed was going to lead to imprisonment was, as Rep. Tom Lantos stated, "a disgrace."

Complying with the legally issued warrants of a duly elected government is NOT the same as collaborating in the suppression of free speech by thuggery.

Clifford VanMeter
http://techpolitics.us

[kfdan]

Where there's a will ......

there is bound to be a way! I think software companies wanting
business in China or for that matter in any country practicing
information control are in a hard place. Can we really expect
them to confront the higher powers to be? I don't think they can
if they want to do business. I also think they should not be
helping such regimes find out who posts what as well. This is
where they need to draw the line. Let people who set up web
sites figure a way to stay one step ahead of censors. Help people
who use the web to provide truthful information to find a means
to circumvent the controllers who are obviously in fear of what
people find out. Information cannot be suppressed. It's like
water under pressure. Leaks will spring open in the seams of
controlled communication and the true nature of things will get
out. If you run a software company keep your business going
just stay out of the way of those who care to see reality stream!

[Wpan]

Well said, grandstanding

China went thru 50 years of proproganda warfare with USA, just like Rice is proposing $75m to blitz Iran. One thinks any country capable will be guarded, especially when our politician behave they way they do.

Should be gradeful for the fact the these companies are in China, conforming to the law of the land earning invisible exports to help balance of payment.

Until the day the internet community can govern itself with regards to responsible expressions, I can see more countries with firewalls in the future. Funny cartoons only.

[dosware]

responsible expression

By "responsible expression" do you mean to exclude honest and open discussion of the Laogai and Tibet? I feel sorry for anyone who actually believes it's somehow utilitarian to be fed outright lies. The US may feed us lies too- but at least we are given the freedom to hear the opposition.

Such censorship is an insult to the intelligence and humanity of every Chinese citizen.

[Philips]

Double standards

You sponsor Palestina, U.S. describe now as terrorist state. You claim to respect human rights but still you have established Guantanamo Bay prison. Shall I go on???

And do not tell you that U.S. has no censorship. I come from ex-USSR and has few/no illusions on how such states (USA, USSR) are working. Innards are barely different.

IMO, people do deserve their rulers. Respecting law of the country is must.

But to the country of double standards, of course rules can be relaxed, for sake of uhmmm... human rights (like in Guantanamo Bay), for sake of free speech (like CIA/FBI people sitting in every major TV station).

You, people on other side of Atlantics, got to get a wake up call. 9/11 - instead of wake-up call - seems to put you even deeper into the self-induced trauma.

I'll repeat: people deserve their rulers. Respecting law of the country is must. Laws made by rulers - anyway we see them are paramount. You wanna make friends? - respect their laws. Wanna make enemies? - respect nobodies but your own laws. (Try to guess where U.S. is at moment.)

[Bloogy]

Double standards ?

Ihar Filipau comments that: "You wanna make friends? - respect their laws."

This is CREATING a double standard, not abiding by one. For a quick example--try applying that rule to other countries and regions, such as the middle-east or China...

If the middle east respected laws of free speach--would there be riots throughout Pakistan and clerics issuing contracts to kill artists?

If China respected these laws would this entire debate even be happening?--Free speach and free dissemination of knowledge is LAW in many, many countries, and seen as a natural right by many tens of millions of people.

But do you dare make a call for this right to be respected by all? Sometimes there's a difference between doing what is right, and making friends. And a great many believe that ethical integrity is more important than popularity.

[samgmcf]

Very little grandstanding

I watched the coverage on CNN and saw lots of moral passion, but think that the charge of grandstanding is in your own head, simply because you can't believe anyone in Congress would really care if American companies engage in information censorship. No, they care, and do so deeply, as do I. I just regret that you do not. As you quote Google, "In an imperfect world, we had to make an imperfect choice." No, they didn't. No one is forcing Google to do business in China. For google, it is simply a case that money is more important than morality. If they had not opened Google.cn, do you seriously believe that our China trade and loans from China would be endangered? Of course they would not be.

[candhobbes]

How to settle a political debate

The politicians will never accomplish anything. Most likely the real change will come from the private sector. For instance, all that needs happen is some ambitious attorney dig one of these Chinese guys out of prison, get them into the U.S. for political persecution and use them to enter into litigation against Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Think of it, billions in legal fees could be made, these companies sacrificed the freedom, lives, and health of these people and their families for economic gain. The minute an attorney gets one of these guys onto U.S. soil these internet companies might as well hand them a billion dollars, it'll be far cheaper then hearing it in a courtroom.

[dosware]

"responsible expression"

By "responsible expression" do you mean to exclude honest and open discussion of the Laogai and Tibet? I feel sorry for anyone who actually believes it's somehow utilitarian to be fed outright lies. The US may feed us lies too- but at least we are given the freedom to hear the opposition.

Such over-the-top censorship is an insult to the intelligence and humanity of every Chinese citizen.