After hearing reports that US tech giants such as Microsoft and Yahoo! are abiding by Chinese law mandating internet censorship, some irritated US politicians are threatening to pass laws restricting such co-operation.
Representative Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, said on Thursday that the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Human Rights, which he heads, will hold a hearing in early to mid- February. Smith has invited representatives from Cisco Systems, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, the international watchdog group Reporters Without Borders and the US State Department to speak.
The effort is designed to determine what can be done, either by legislative mandate or on a voluntary basis, to “dissociate a company from working hand-in-glove with a dictatorship”, said Smith.
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