CORPORATE COMPLICITY IN INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN CHINA: WHO CARES FOR THE GLOBAL COMPACT OR THE GLOBAL ONLINE FREEDOM ACT?

George Washington International Law Review, The, 2007 by Deva, Surya

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As is the case with Yahoo! and Microsoft, there is a gap between what Google preaches and what it practices,109 though Google does not seem to think so.110 Google claims to make money "without doing evil,"111 as "acting ethically is a core value . . . and an integral part of [its] business culture."112 Google has a declared objective "to make the world's information accessible to everyone, everywhere, all the time."113 In order to "balance" its two fundamental commitments - satisfying the interests of users and expanding access to information - with its policy of self-censorship in China, Google added a new fundamental commitment to be "responsive to local conditions."114

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All these principled commitments look nice on paper, but the real difficulty, as the current Internet censorship saga demonstrates, lies in the details of putting these policies into practice. Moreover, these proclaimed values are an example of profit-drivenethics rather than of ethics-driven-profit. Ultimately, it is the "bottom line" that will dictate the meaning and contours of ethical conduct and how the "balancing" has to be done in view of infinite local conditions.

On the positive side, like Microsoft, Google has decided not to offer Gmail e-mail or blogging service in China at this stage.115 Google also declared that it will inform its customers when results are censored,116 and that it will continue to make available its "unfiltered Chinese-language Google.com service."117 Moreover, as compared to other companies, Google "has come closest to acknowledging publicly that its practices are at odds with its principles."118

4) Cisco

As noted, the reports of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch did not examine Cisco's involvement in Internet censorship in China.119 But others accuse Cisco of facilitating Internet censorship by selling routing devices - "the equipment that makes the Internet and networking work"120 - to China.121 "Cisco is also suspected of giving Chinese engineers training in how to use its products to censor the Internet."122 While appearing at the Joint Hearing, Cisco Senior Vice President Mark Chandler refuted suggestions that selling network devices assists Chinese Internet censorship.123 Chandler stated in categorical terms that "Cisco does not customize or develop specialized or unique [filtering] capabilities, in order to enable different regimes to block access to information" and that "Cisco sells the same equipment to China as it sells worldwide."124 The company denies that it designs and sells products especially for censorship, though admits that the same technology is used for both security and the management of information.125 Furthermore, Cisco does not deny the fact that it sells routing devices to China with knowledge that they may be used for Internet censorship.126

Cisco's corporate citizenship policies can also be juxtaposed with its conduct in the instant situation. Cisco has embraced the Global Compact and has adopted a Code of Business Conduct.127 It "strives to be a good citizen worldwide" and pursues a strong "triple bottom line": profits, people and presence.128 The company claims that, "[a] s the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, Cisco Systems, Inc. is committed to helping people from all walks of life benefit from the Internet. Cisco was founded in an environment of open communication, empowerment, integrity and trust."129 Cisco is also committed to conducting its operations not only in compliance with local laws, "but also according to globally accepted ethical principles."130

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CORPORATE COMPLICITY IN INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN CHINA: WHO CARES FOR THE GLOBAL COMPACT OR THE GLOBAL ONLINE FREEDOM ACT?

George Washington International Law Review, The, 2007 by Deva, Surya

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