I was disturbed to read in several places this week about American companies (Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco are alleged to have provided resources) actively providing tools, knowledge and filtering software to the Chinese government to block internet access.
To me, this isn’t a political issue, it’s a matter of essential human rights. Free access to information is one of the greatest benefits of the internet, and to have American companies profiting from refusing that basic human right is wrong. Harnessing the power of technology to benefit developing countries is in everyone’s benefit, in the long run, even if it hurts profits in the short term. Filtering only benefits the dictator du jour, and we’ve seen how well that is working in the middle east.
What do you think? Weigh in under comments.
