Internet companies take one small step, but not enough
30 October 2008, 08:44AM
© Reuters
Yahoo, Microsoft and Google have agreed to a code of conduct about how they do business in countries such as China, which restrict free speech. This is a positive step but the agreement falls well short of its potential.
The initiative - which has been two years in the making - is a voluntary framework to help protect people expressing opinions online in countries such as China, where talk of democracy or criticism of the Communist government is treated as criminal behavior, reports AFP.
" … The code of conduct is to call on Internet firms to narrowly interpret government requests for information or censorship and to fight to minimize cooperation …"
Full details of the guidelines can be found at the Global Network Initiative.
Those involved in developing the initiative - both companies and human rights organisations - say it isn't just a set of rules for doing business in China.
It applies to doing business everywhere, and works more as a framework to help Internet companies do the due diligence that can help them avoid the ethical lapses for which they've been criticised, writes The Wall St Journal.
From the journal:
" … "Does it solve all problems? Probably not," says Rebecca MacKinnon, a professor at Journalism and Media Studies Centre of Hong Kong University, who was involved in drafting the Initiative. But "part of this is about getting companies to think through these issues before they get bad into situations." …"
****Where does Amnesty stand? Amnesty International has been involved in this process from the start. However we recently decided to withdraw. Clear outlines of company compliance and accountability were inclusions that we definitely wanted in the text of the Principles in the end - the Principles signed were weak in these areas. We felt that the Principles signed had too many loopholes and too much ambiguous language for us to endorse them. We wish to remain engaged with the companies and feel that from outside the Initiative we can exert more pressure for further development of the Principles.
Without clarity and the ability to hold companies to account, voluntary initiatives can become little more than public relations tools for some participants.
For more information check out these stories from The Washington Post, AP, the Sydney Morning Herald and Rebecca MacKinnon.
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