Bill Gates' Microsoft Censors Chinese Blogger

[mandy]

Microsoft has admitted to removing the blog of an outspoken Chinese journalist from its MSN Spaces site, citing its policy of adhering to local laws.

The blog, written by Zhao Jing, also known as Michael Anti, was removed from MSN servers on Dec. 31, according to investigative journalist and former CNN reporter Rebecca Mackinnon. She claimed that the blog was actively removed by MSN staff rather than being blocked by Chinese authorities...

..."Guys over at MSN: Sorry, I don't agree with your being used as a state-run thug," he said. "It's one thing to pull a list of words out of a blog using an algorithm. It's another thing to become an agent of a government and censor an entire blogger's work," Scoble wrote.

full article: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6017540.html

related topics:
Yahoo Aids Chinese Government In Censoring News of Brutal Massacre of Protesters http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...719.0.html
Allegations Yahoo Collaborated With Chinese Government to Jail Journalist  http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...332.0.html

[regic]

Lots of reaction to Microscum's censorship:

A Chinese blogger writes:

MSN is starting to encounter the reputational consequences of its censorship of Michael Anti's blog...Microsoft invokes the now-cliche "obeying local laws defense" previously wielded by them, Google (for it's keyword censorship) and Yahoo (for turning over Shi Tao's e-mail to the Chinese authorities)

...Anyone who watches US media and public sentiment will see that there is a current of deminonization of China flowing right now... While I don't agree with much of that current, it might have the interesting side effect of putting more pressure on American tech-media companies operating in China. The more the Chinese regime is demonized in the US media, the more distasteful American corporate complicity in some of its more repellent tactics will come to be seen, especially when they infringe upon dissidents often --though not always correctly-- seen as heroes of democracy.

http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/a.../5566.aspx

A pair of articles from former CNN reporter Rebecca Mackinnon's blog:

In my view, this issue goes far beyond China. The behavior of companies like Microsoft, Yahoo! and others - and their eager willingness to comply with Chinese government demands - shows a fundamental lack of respect for users and our fundamental human rights. Globally.

Microsoft, Yahoo! and others are helping to institutionalize and legitimize the integration of censorship into the global IT business model.

Do not count on these companies to protect your human rights, if those rights are threatened by the over-stretching hand of any government anywhere on the planet.

http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversa...takes.html
http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversa...oft_b.html


A Microsoft employee defends his company's role in actively helping governments commit human rights violations:

In China, there is a unique issue for our entire industry: there are certain aspects of speech in China that are regulated by the government.  We’ve made a choice to run a service in China, and to do that, we need to adhere to local regulations and laws.  This is not unique to MSN Spaces; this is something that every company has to do if they operate in China.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/mc/Blog/cn...!927.entry

This is from a September 2005 article about the censorship of the Internet in China:

... international Internet companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft, among others. Eager to expand their Chinese market share, many of these companies are more than keen to collaborate with these censorship mechanisms.

All major Internet Service Providers and Internet Content Providers in China have to hire people who do nothing but watch online information on their Web sites, and are ready to delete content considered “sensitive.” In addition to human censors, all Web site-hosting services have also installed keywords filtering software. Posts on politically sensitive topics, such as Falun Gong, human rights, democracy, and Taiwan independence are routinely filtered. ...over 1,000 words, including “dictatorship,” “truth,” and “riot police” are automatically banned in China’s online forums.

In the long term, however, the Chinese censors are fighting a losing battle....Those in the West that helped trying to suppress speech may come to regret their decisions.

http://www.howardwfrench.com/archives/20...ng_battle/

[rose]

Those in the West that helped trying to suppress speech may come to regret their decisions.

I hope so. Yahoo's Jerry Yang, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Google's Do No Evil Duo, are  the biggest hypocrites around.  Smile pretty for the cameras pretending to be great philanthropists while all the time they're helping dictatorships commit human rights violations.

[mandy]

New York Times editorial on the willingness of Microsoft, Yahoo, Google,  and other Western technology firms to act as enforcers for the Chinese government's systematic violation of human rights:

Even as Internet use explodes in China, Beijing is cracking down on free expression, and Western technology firms are leaping to help. The companies block access to political Web sites, censor content, provide filtering equipment to the government and snitch on users. Companies argue that they must follow local laws, but they are also eager to ingratiate themselves with a government that controls access to the Chinese market.

Such obvious disregard for users' privacy and ethical standards may make it easier to do business in China, but it also aids a repressive regime...

Western technology companies could have a powerful case if they acted as a group in telling China that they are under tremendous consumer and political pressure to stick up for free expression...

full editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/opinio...1295154000&en=968cd35a2e88378a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[mandy]

Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, took the rare step of standing up for arch-rival Google today as he argued that state censorship was no reason for technology companies not to do business in China.

All three of largest internet companies - Google, Microsoft and Yahoo - have been fiercely criticised by human rights groups for toeing China's line on restrictions of free speech.

"Last year, Yahoo provided the Chinese with details leading to the arrest and sentencing of a journalist; Microsoft has barred a blog critical of the government and launched a portal blocking the use of words such as 'freedom' and 'democracy'. Now Google has weeded out websites that China does not like."

full article: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/articl...84,00.html