Hi-Tech Warning

Congress’ most respected defender of human rights, Silicon Valley area congressman Tom Lantos (D), co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, had this to say Wednesday to Microsoft, Cisco, Google and Yahoo!, who failed to show up at a meeting to discuss their atrocious behavior collaborating with tyrannical regimes’ censorship:

"These massively successful high-tech companies, which couldn't bring themselves to send their representatives to this meeting today, should be ashamed,"…
"With all their power and influence, wealth and high visibility, they neglected to commit to the kind of positive action that human rights activists in China take every day," Lantos went on. "They caved in to Beijing's demands for the sake of profits, or whatever else they choose to call it."

On February 15, NJ Republican Chris Smith’s International Relations Subcommittee meets to consider legislation:

[T]he proposal would likely require American Internet service providers to locate their e-mail servers outside of oppressive countries, establish a code of conduct for companies doing business with such regimes and set up a global Internet freedom office within the State Department to coordinate an international strategy.

Smith commented: "Our request to these companies is: Reverse yourselves; you can."

Former CNN correspondent Rebecca MacKinnon ponders the legacy that these hi-tech firms are sowing:

As all of this unfolds I’m reminded of a book I read back in the 90’s: Timothy Garton Ash’s The File. It’s about what happened with information after the Berlin Wall came down. East Germans were able to access their Stasi police files to see who was ratting on them – in some cases neighbors, lovers, spouses, children, etc. I was living in China when the book came out and described it to my Chinese friends over dinner. One friend said: “Yes, that day will come in China too. Then I’ll know who my real friends are.” The table fell silent for a few moments.
One day, people in China may be able to see the records of conversations between multinational tech companies and the Chinese authorities. What were the exact terms of the deals? Who made them? In what context did these conversations take place? I expect the revelations won’t be too flattering for the companies concerned.

How welcome will they be in China then? Where will their bloody profits be? Human rights IS a good investment, not only in freedom but also in future commercial success.