Yahoo, Google, Microsoft censor the Internet

Google filters search results. Yahoo discloses personal information about journalists. Microsoft censors blogs.

These things are believable as part of a not-too-distant-future dystopia in the US, but unfortunately, it's exactly what's happening right now in China. Amnesty USA published a report last week that slammed the tech giants and others for behavior that inhibits the very core of what the Internet is about -- spreading information freely. It's certainly no news that this has been happening (check out Students for a Free Tibet on Google and the repercussions of Yahoo's tattling), but this is one of the first reports of its kind to collect the offenses all in one place, and marks the launch of a new Amnesty campaign: http://irrepressible.info/.

From the report:

In China, Yahoo! has handed over private information that led to the imprisonment of two journalists, Shi Tao and Li Zhi, both of whom have been adopted by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. The company has also voluntarily signed China's "Public Pledge on Self-discipline for the Chinese Internet Industry," agreeing to censor and deny access to information.

In China, Microsoft shut down the blog of New York Times researcher Zhao Jing at the government's request. The company also obeys directions from the Chinese authorities to limit use of certain terms -- like "democracy" and "human rights" -- on MSN Spaces.

On the new campaign site, folks can sign a petition that will be presented to the UN in the fall, as well as publish a badge on their own websites which displays information that's censored around the world. What kinds of info get censored? My first two loadings of the badge displayed information for Persian LGBT people banned in Iran, and the BBC's weather forecast banned in China. Dangerous thoughts, indeed...