Subject: Stop aiding the repression of freedom of information and expression on the internet in China
From: ”Tony Wan”
To: ”Eric Schmidt - Chairman and CEO” <>
”William H. Gates - Chairman” <>
”David Filo - Yahoo! Co-founder”
Dear Mr Schmidt,Mr Gates,Mr David Filo,
Stop aiding the repression of freedom of information and expression on the internet in China
I am alarmed that in the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, your company is contributing to abuses of freedom of expression and information. This issue is especially evident in China, where Google,Microsoft and Yahoo has agreed to restrict search results for topics including “human rights”, “political reform”, “Tiananmen Square” and “Falun Gong”, thus denying users of google.cn the ability to access the full range of information available internationally on human rights topics.
Though I acknowledge the policies recently adopted by Google,Microsoft and Yahoo to address some of these issues, including efforts to inform users that a search has been censored, I am still disturbed that the company continues to restrict search results in its local search engine. I urge Google,Microsoft and Yahoo to take further steps in this matter, including making public a full list of censored words and phrases The fact that the company acts in compliance with restrictive domestic law does not exempt it from its international human rights responsibilities if complying with such request contributes to human rights violations.
Internet companies have an invaluable role to play in the realization of freedom of expression and information – it shocks me that Google,Microsoft and Yahoo would compromise this goal in pursuit of profit. Therefore I urge Google,Microsoft, and Yahoo to:
* 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
* Put pressure on the Chinese government to remove blockages, stop the filtering of key words on the Chinese internet, including words such as democracy, human rights, freedom and Falun Gong, and ensure the Chinese public have uninhibited access to the full range of information available on the web in line with international standards on freedom of expression and freedom of information.
* Develop an explicit human rights policy that states the company’s support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and complies with the principles articulated in the UN Norms for Business. In this light, make clear to the Chinese authorities, as well as to the global community, that Google is not willing to assist governments in implementing their systems of internet censorship, nor providing information directed at restricting freedom of expression.
Thank you for your consideration of these demands.
Sincerely,
Tony Wan
Eric Schmidt - Chairman and CEO
Google Inc.
William H. Gates - Chairman
Microsoft Corporation
David Filo - Yahoo! Co-founder
文章定位：
