The Chinese economy growing at a sizzling rate and its’ gross domestic product, the combined value of its goods and services, rocketing to 8.2% this year from 2005, vs. 3.3% growth in the USA as stated by International Monetary Fund is the latest cynosure of the online search giants who desire to plunge deeper into one of the world’s hottest economies.
The run for the Chinese melon including big names like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and many more now is facing the fierce attitude of the Free-speech advocates that held the Internet companies for bowing to China’s demands that they censor or fork over information the communist government deemed objectionable.
With the market leaders like Google following the slave beeline following the launch of Google.cn-a self censored search engine version last month in China and the latest case of Yahoo’s alleged passing-on of personal information about 2 of its users to the Chinese government – an action leading to the imprisonment of the 2 Chinese dissidents is fetching the companies criticism around the globe.
Battling at the best possible to regain the trust of the clientele Yahoo under the aegis of U.S. government has called for the cooperation of the internet, media and communication companies along with to demur the Chinese autocracy dictating freedom of internet users.
Meanwhile Congress Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., is drafting a bill that would force Internet companies including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to keep vital computer servers out of China and other nations the State Department deems repressive to human rights. However following the repercussions the users will have to bear crimping response time in lieu of the freedom they enjoy.
A scheduled Wednesday hearing on the issue being attended by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco Systems will aim at realizing how network hardware might be used outside the USA to help repressive governments ferret out dissidents and to establish codes of conduct for Internet companies operating in repressive regimes.