The move may counter the heavy criticism which
Yahoo! and Google in particular have faced over their practices in
politically oppressive regimes such as China. Yahoo! helped to
identify a journalist in China who was later arrested and convicted
for emailing dissident comments to the US, according to the court
papers in that man's trial.
Google has also faced opposition to its
practices in China. The company, whose famous corporate motto is
'don't be evil', has provided China with a search engine which is
censored in line with Chinese political policy.
Those two companies are now working with the
Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School,
Human Rights Watch and the Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT) in Washington on a code of conduct.
The companies announced their "intention to
seek solutions to the free expression and privacy challenges faced
by technology and communications companies doing business
internationally," according to a joint statement.
Later this year the group of companies and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will produce "a set of
principles guiding company behaviour when faced with laws,
regulations and policies that interfere with the achievement of
human rights," said the statement. Those that commit to those
principles will be held accountable to them, it said.
"Technology companies have played a vital role
building the economy and providing tools important for democratic
reform in developing countries," said CDT executive director Leslie
Harris. "But many governments have found ways to turn technology
against their citizens – monitoring legitimate online activities
and censoring democratic material."
"It is vital that we identify solutions that
preserve the enormous democratic value provided by technological
development, while at the same time protecting the human rights and
civil liberties of those who stand to benefit from that expansion,"
said Harris.
