Censorship And Free Expression In The Role Of U.S. Tech Companies

A government's position on censorship used to protect its citizenry is dictated by who they are. The well-popularized censorship of Internet content in China by Google and other big players, and criticism of this by the U.S. government, is really just the tip of the iceburg. On Febrary 15, the United States Congress held hearings on the role of U.S. Internet companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco in suppressing free expression and therefore encouraging repressive tactics by countries like China. The hearings explored the role and the responsibility of these companies for deliberately filtering communications, assisting in the interception of citizen's communications, and using technology to restrict access by citizens to information.

At the same time, the U.S. government was seeking broad information from these same companies about the aggregate browsing habits of ordinary Americans. They were attempting to enforce a criminal statute that would restrict access to constitutionally protected information by Americans, and were enlisting the support and assistance of telecommunications and Internet providers in this extra-legal intercepting of communications of United States persons. And it didn't matter if the people are living within the United States or abroad.

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