On the 15th, Congress held hearings to determine what efforts were being contributed to within the Chinese Governments efforts to continue to censor the Internet from Chinese web surfers. During this hearing, it was found that companies like Yahoo, Cisco, Microsoft and more participate in the Chinese censorship.
WASHINGTON â€â€? It’s called the Great Firewall of China â€â€? a barrier constructed with the help of Silicon Valley companies to block China’s Internet users from information about taboo topics such as human rights and democracy.
The participation of U.S. technology giants Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Microsoft in the Chinese government’s online censorship and surveillance programs is drawing increasing criticism. Officials from the four companies are scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing today.
But what can be done to help dismantle China’s constantly evolving firewall? And can technology, which helped erect it, be used to tear it down?
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a longtime critic of China’s human rights record who convened the House subcommittee hearing, is drafting a bill that would boost funding for countercensorship technologies.
More money would help small firms like Dynamic Internet Technology, a North Carolina company founded by Chinese expatriate Bill Xia that constantly changes the addresses of U.S. servers to keep the Chinese government from blocking access to restricted sites.
“They keep upgrading their technologies. Still, I think we’re staying ahead of them,” Xia said in an interview over his cell phone, declining to give the company’s exact location for fear of being tracked down by the Chinese government.
[Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press ]
U.S. firms faulted for aiding Internet limits
BY JIM PUZZANGHERA, Washington Bureau
