Human Rights Watch demands global law to end complicity in 'Great Firewall'
A leading human rights group has called for international legislation and a strong industry code to end western internet companies' 'complicity' in political censorship on the mainland.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had documented the way 'extensive corporate and private sector co-operation - including by some of the world's major internet companies - enables this system of censorship'.
'Western internet companies are complicit in actively censoring political material without telling users what is happening and why,' said Rebecca MacKinnon, a consultant to the group.
'We believe that companies could act more ethically and still operate in China. It's time for internet companies to decide whether they want to be part of the problem or part of the solution.'
Human Rights Watch said China's system of internet censorship and surveillance, known as 'the Great Firewall', involved tens of thousands of people employed by the government and was the most advanced in the world.
The group's 149-page report focuses on the internet operations of Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and Skype, which it said were 'complicit in the Chinese government's censorship', but added they were not the only companies doing this.