Are US companies putting profits before ethics in China?
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2006/02/15/afx2530630.html Lawmakers in the US Congress accused Internet providers of putting the quest for profits ahead of ethics in co-operating with China’s censorship of online information. The stinging criticism came at a hearing in the House of Representatives, where senior officials from Microsoft Corp, Google Inc, Yahoo! Inc and Cisco Systems Inc were the star witnesses, Agence France-Presse reported. Many lawmakers, like Republican Representative Tom Tancredo, said there could be no excuse for American Internet and high-tech companies yielding to China’s censorship restrictions. ‘Our companies cowardly complicity in restricting speech is a disservice to freedom-loving Chinese and a dishonor to America,’ Tancredo said at the hearing. Lawmakers added that China’s vast and lucrative market, with 110 mln Internet users now and many millions more expected, has prompted US companies to put ethical considerations to the side in adhering to Beijing’s r
