Representatives from several powerhouse technology companies said they would not attend a congressional briefing yesterday meant to shine a spotlight on US Internet businesses operating in China.
Critics have been blasting US companies for helping the Chinese Communist government enforce censorship and silence dissent in return for access to a potentially lucrative market.
Three of the four companies invited by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus -- Microsoft Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and Google Inc -- said they would not attend yesterday's session, according to Lynne Weill, a congressional spokeswoman. Yahoo Inc had yet to announce its decision, she said on Tuesday.
While attendance at yesterday's briefing was not mandatory, companies could be compelled with subpoenas to attend a Feb. 15 hearing on the issue, said Representative Chris Smith, Republican chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on global human rights.
In an interview, the lawmaker criticized US Internet firms, saying they were helping China arrest and torture activists and screen information from its citizens.
"This is not benign or neutral," Smith said of companies acceding to China's demands. "They have an obligation not to be promoting dictatorship."
Microsoft, Cisco and Google said they planned to attend the Feb. 15 hearing. Yahoo didn't respond to messages left by AP.
Although Beijing has supported Internet use for education and business, it fiercely polices content. Filters block objectionable foreign Web sites, and regulations ban what the Chinese consider subversive and pornographic content and require service providers to enforce censorship.
Foreign firms have adopted Chinese standards, saying they must obey local laws.
At the request of the Chinese government, Microsoft recently shut down the Internet journal of a Chinese blogger that discussed politically sensitive issues. Google said last week it would filter sensitive topics from Web searches in China. Yahoo came under fire last year for providing Beijing with e-mail account information for Chinese journalist Shi Tao (師濤), who later was convicted for violating state secrecy laws.
Microsoft said on Tuesday it would endeavor to make blogs available to users elsewhere, even if the company decides it is legally obliged to block them in a particular country.
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