Lawmakers seek halt to web censorship

Two U.S. senators, Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, are worried that big Internet companies are cooperating with repressive foreign governments. They have warned that if the industry doesn't change its ways, Congress will act.

In a letter to the CEOs of Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google, Durbin and Coburn accused the companies of not following through on a promise to adopt a code of conduct under which they would agree not to aid foreign governments' attempts to censor or repress Internet users.

"It is critical to the protection of fundamental human rights that a voluntary code of conduct be finalized and implemented as soon as possible," the senators wrote. "We recognize that the code of conduct raises complicated issues with potentially far-reaching effects on your company's operations, but with everyday that the code is not finalized the human rights of people across the globe are jeopardized."

Yahoo has been widely condemned for handing over information on dissident Shi Tao to the Chinese government, and other similar cases have come to light. In the House, New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith has legislation awaiting floor action that would require U.S.-based Internet companies to be more forthcoming about their dealings with repressive governments, and would prohibit them from identifying dissenters who use their technologies.

For more:
- see this InformationWeek article