Linking China's Net Censorship with Trade
Dec 12, 2007
Earlier this year, we wrote about Google's efforts to convince the federal government that Internet censorship in countries like China should be considered a trade barrier. Google contended that censorship was not just a political issue but an economic one that affected Web companies' ability to conduct business.
Now, a free speech group called the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) has raised the ante by petitioning the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to file a complaint against China with the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that the Chinese government is violating the trade agreements it signed as a condition of being admitted to the WTO.
According to CFAC's site, the initiative is supported by a number of organizations including Stanford's Center for Internet and Society and the China Internet Project at UC Berkeley. And Computerworld points out that Google and Yahoo! employees are among the members of the organization's board, though neither company is mentioned directly by CFAC.
CFAC's executive director describes it as "the biggest access-to-information and free speech case in history," though it's unclear if the USTR will act on the petition. Just yesterday, the USTR released its annual report on China's compliance with its WTO obligations; it acknowledged that China had made some progress in reducing trade barriers but acknowledged that more needed to be done. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is also in China today for another round of bilateral trade talks.
Tags:
China, Internet censorship, trade
