Google Searches for Censorship Standards
Expanding into foreign markets has brought great profitability and growth to a number of tech companies, but despite the borderless nature of the Internet, some countries that these companies choose to operate in adhere to different standards of human rights and privacy that pose an equally great clash of conscience for some shareholders.
The issue hit prime time in 2004 when the Chinese government's request to Yahoo! for user information led to the imprisonment of a Chinese journalist for communications with an overseas pro-democracy organization.
Since then, noise has been made by investment firms, human rights organizations, elected officials and shareholders seeking to curb the uncontested infringement of individual rights and privacy. Some companies have come to recognize the importance of establishing universal standards for rights protected in the U.S. Earlier this year, it was announced that Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Vodafone have joined a collection of interested parties - including the Berkman Center - in working to form concrete guidelines for such a purpose.
Yahoo!'s shareholders have already made their voices heard by submitting a resolution to adopt anti-censorship policies, which the SEC says must be taken to a vote by the company's stockholders.
Now it's Google's turn, only their corporate leadership is taking a different path, by sending a letter to its shareholders asking them to reject similar proposals at next week's annual meeting.
With pressure coming from numerous angles, businesses such as Google and Yahoo!, despite their own initiatives, are going to be required to take action to deal with this issue, but the question remains whether government, corporate shareholders, or the companies themselves will make the final decision on the terms of which freedom of expression and privacy are maintained online, around the world.
The issue hit prime time in 2004 when the Chinese government's request to Yahoo! for user information led to the imprisonment of a Chinese journalist for communications with an overseas pro-democracy organization.
Since then, noise has been made by investment firms, human rights organizations, elected officials and shareholders seeking to curb the uncontested infringement of individual rights and privacy. Some companies have come to recognize the importance of establishing universal standards for rights protected in the U.S. Earlier this year, it was announced that Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Vodafone have joined a collection of interested parties - including the Berkman Center - in working to form concrete guidelines for such a purpose.
Yahoo!'s shareholders have already made their voices heard by submitting a resolution to adopt anti-censorship policies, which the SEC says must be taken to a vote by the company's stockholders.
Now it's Google's turn, only their corporate leadership is taking a different path, by sending a letter to its shareholders asking them to reject similar proposals at next week's annual meeting.
With pressure coming from numerous angles, businesses such as Google and Yahoo!, despite their own initiatives, are going to be required to take action to deal with this issue, but the question remains whether government, corporate shareholders, or the companies themselves will make the final decision on the terms of which freedom of expression and privacy are maintained online, around the world.