Thursday, Jan 21, 2010


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WASHINGTON (AFP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged U.S. technology companies on Thursday not to support Internet censorship and said countries which carry out cyberattacks should be punished.

Clinton, in a speech on Internet freedom at the Newseum journalism museum here, also called on China to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the recent cyberattacks on Google Inc. (GOOG) and other U.S. companies.

She cited China, North Korea, Tunisia and Uzbekistan as nations restricting the "free flow of information" or censoring the Internet and said that access to social networking sites in Vietnam has "suddenly disappeared."

She said 30 bloggers and activists had been detained in Egypt and singled out China, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam as countries which have "co-opted the Internet as a tool to target and silence people of faith."

"We stand for a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas," Clinton said.

But, she said, "some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from accessing portions of the world's networks.

"They have expunged words, names and phrases from search engine results," she said. "They have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in non-violent political speech."

Clinton said the United States was supporting the development of new tools which will "enable citizens to exercise their right of free expression" by circumventing censorship and called on U.S. technology firms to play a role.

"I hope that refusal to support politically motivated censorship will become a trademark characteristic of American technology companies," Clinton said. "It should be part of our national brand.

"The private sector has a shared responsibility to help safeguard free expression," she said. "And when their business dealings threaten to undermine this freedom, they need to consider what's right, not simply the prospect of quick profits."

Clinton said the State Department would hold a high-level meeting next month with companies that provide network services for talks on Internet freedom.

Google, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) are among the U.S. technology giants which have been accused by members of the U.S. Congress and others of helping to build what has been dubbed the "Great Firewall of China."

Google, however, following a wave of cyberattacks that originated in China, said last week it would no longer censor its Chinese search engine even if it means the Internet giant has to shut down its business operations there.

Clinton called on China "to conduct a thorough investigation of the cyber intrusions" revealed by Google and for "its results to be transparent."

"The Internet has already been a source of tremendous progress in China, and it's great that so many people there are now online," she said.

"But countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century."

Without specifically mentioning China, Clinton also said "those who disrupt the free flow of information in our society, or any other, pose a threat to our economy, our government and our civil society.

"Countries or individuals that engage in cyberattacks should face consequences and international condemnation," she said. "In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation's networks can be an attack on all."

Clinton's remarks came after China said Google's threat to quit the country over censorship and cyberattacks should not be linked to Sino-U.S. ties.

"If Google has any problems in its business in China, these must be resolved according to Chinese law, and the Chinese government is willing to help resolve these problems," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said.

"The Google case should not be linked with relations between the two governments and countries; otherwise, it's an over-interpretation," state media quoted him as saying.

China has defended its right to filter information available on the Web and repeatedly told foreign firms they must obey its laws.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

21-01-10 1624GMT