‘And of course, the information society’s very life blood is freedom. It is freedom that enables citizens everywhere to benefit from knowledge, journalists to do their essential work, and citizens to hold government accountable. Without openness, without the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, the information revolution will stall, and the information society we hope to build will be stillborn.’ - Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Amnesty International has produced many reports documenting the Chinese government’s violations of human rights. The expansion of investment in China by foreign companies in the field of information and communications technology puts them at risk of contributing to certain types of violation, particularly those relating to freedom of expression and the suppression of dissent.

Our reason for focusing on Internet companies in this report is that we believe that they are part of the problem, and because we would like them to act as a ‘force for the good’ in becoming part of the solution towards improving the human rights situation in China.

This briefing provides an overview of the use of the Internet as a tool to deny freedom of expression in China, focusing on both the Chinese government’s suppression of dissent and on the role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google in collaborating with the authorities. The actions of these Internet companies are contrasted with their proclaimed values.

The conclusion drawn is that they have, through their actions, directly and admittedly contradicted their values and stated policies. Amnesty International questions the principles that guide their decisions, and challenges the defences they use to justify their behaviour. In our view, these do not stand up to scrutiny. A series of recommendations are proposed to enable them to act in accordance with international human rights norms.

The Internet and freedom of expression – a new frontier for human rights?
The Internet is one of the most powerful inventions of the digital age. It has the potential to empower and educate, to cross cultural boundaries and create global communities. It offers the means for any individual with access to a computer and a gateway to the Internet to participate in a free flow of information and ideas with others across the world.

Yet that very potential to transcend national borders and impart information regardless of frontiers means that the Internet is also the subject of concerted efforts by governments to restrict freedoms and violate basic human rights such as the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of information.

In some countries where dissent is suppressed, the struggle for freedom of expression is now taking place online as governments devote increasing resources and attention to controlling access to information on the Internet and to surveillance of users. Their objective is often to prevent dissemination of information that is critical of them, as well as to track and monitor dissidents, some of whom may subsequently be imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The Internet itself can become a tool of repression where the monitoring of communications, the censoring and filtering of information and the amassing of immense databanks of information enhance the ability of repressive governments to restrict the freedoms and basic human rights of their citizens. Such national restrictions can affect not just those living in that country but all who seek to impart or receive information about it.

There are some legitimate cases in which restricting access to certain information is an important step in protecting human rights, for example preventing access to child pornography. However, international human rights standards establish strict conditions under which such restrictions are permissible. Unwarranted censorship of the kind outlined in this briefing is contrary to many local laws and established international norms and values.

Green Dam

Analysis of the Green Dam Censorware System

Download Undermining Freedom of Expression in China: The Role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google

PDF format, 503KB, 32Pages.

Published in July 2006 by
Amnesty International UK
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EA
United Kingdom
www.amnesty.org.uk
ISBN: 187332866 4
ISBN: 978-1-873328-66-8

CONTENTS
Executive summary 4
1. Freedom of expression 8
1.1 A fundamental human right 8
1.2 Internet governance and human rights 8
2. Human rights responsibilities of companies 10
2.1 Responsibilities of Internet hardware and software companies 11
3. The human rights situation in China: an overview 13
3.1 The crackdown on human rights defenders 13
3.2 Curtailment of freedom of expression 14
3.3 Internet censorship in China 16
4. The role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google 17
4.1 Mismatch between values and actions 17
4.2 Contravening their principle that users come first 23
4.3 Uncovering their defences 23
4.4 From denial to acknowledgement 26
5. Recommendations for action 28

Recommendations for action
Amnesty International calls on Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google and other Internet companies operating in China to:

1. Publicly commit to honouring the freedom of expression provision in the Chinese constitution and lobby for the release of all cyber-dissidents and journalists imprisoned solely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression.

2. Be transparent about the filtering process used by the company in China and around the world and make public what words and phrases are filtered and how these words are selected.

3. Make publicly available all agreements between the company and the Chinese government with implications for censorship of information and suppression of dissent.

4. Exhaust all judicial remedies and appeals in China and internationally before complying with state directives where these have human rights implications. Make known to the government the company’s principled opposition to implementing any requests or directives which breach international human rights norms whenever such pressures are applied.

5. Develop an explicit human rights policy that states the company’s support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and complies with the UN Norms for Business and the UN Global Compact’s principle on avoiding complicity in human rights violations.

6. Clarify to what extent human rights considerations are taken into account in the processes and procedures that the company undertakes in deciding whether and how the company’s values and reputation will be compromised if it assists governments to censor access to the Internet.

7. Exercise leadership in promoting human rights in China through lobbying the government for legislative and social reform in line with international human rights standards, through seeking clarification of the existing legal framework and through adopting business practices that encourage China to comply with its human rights obligations.

8. Participate in and support the outcomes of a multi-stakeholder process to develop a set of guidelines relating to the Internet and human rights issues, as well as mechanisms for their implementation and verification, as part of broader efforts to promote recognition of the body of human rights principles applicable to companies.

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