Google to call for more scrutiny of official censorship

A Google executive slated to testify Tuesday at a Senate hearing on global Internet freedom will urge the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to make government-imposed censorship a key element of trade talks, CongressDaily has learned.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The Internet giant will also push for the appointment of an ambassador at the State Department to serve as "a roving diplomatic advocate" for online freedom. The recommendations are expected to be made by Google deputy general counsel Nicole Wong, who will appear before the Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee alongside Cisco Systems general counsel Mark Chandler and Yahoo deputy general counsel Michael Samway.

Watchdog groups have criticized all three firms for their business dealings in foreign countries that have poor human rights records. Wong will also call for the United States to renew efforts to encourage more countries to ratify the 30-year-old International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and tie U.S. foreign aid programs to countries' implementation of covenant obligations. Additionally, Google wants nations that sign on to the United Nations treaty to submit compliance reports every four years.

Google came under fire in 2006 for launching a Chinese-language version of its search engine that restricts access to certain search results that Beijing finds objectionable. In a statement at the time, the company said that filtering search results "clearly compromises" its mission, but added that failing to offer Google at all would be far worse.

For its part, Yahoo has faced criticism for its involvement in China's prosecution of online journalist Shi Tao, who in 2005 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly leaking state secrets. The company and its Chinese partner, Alibaba.com, were sued and subsequently settled with Shi's family in a U.S. court. Yahoo recently established a human rights fund to provide humanitarian and legal aid to Internet dissidents who have been imprisoned around the world.

Cisco was asked to appear because watchdog groups have charged that its OpenNet Initiative allegedly enables the Chinese government's "Great Firewall." Human Rights Watch's Arvind Ganesan and Internet activist Shiyu Zhou will also testify.

A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said today the hearing will likely address how legislation could help protect U.S. companies from being caught between law enforcement requirements of their host country and universal human rights norms regarding freedom of speech.

Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., has introduced a bill that would ban U.S. technology firms from cooperating with regimes that restrict Internet speech, but the measure does not yet have a Senate counterpart. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a member of the Human Rights Subcommittee, has said he is reviewing the proposal and believes introducing a companion bill is "a possibility."

Smith said today that he was happy the Senate is getting involved but remains "appalled" that U.S. technology providers continue to aid in government Internet crackdowns. His bill is awaiting a House floor vote, and he has pressed House Speaker Pelosi to act quickly.

Passing the bill would be "part of a tangible and very meaningful" effort to urge China to uphold its commitment to improving human rights prior to the Olympic Games, he said.