Fresh US outrage ahead of China Internet hearings

[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Joel Rothstein and Eric Auchard]
U.S. Internet companies faced bipartisan criticism in the Congress on Thursday amid a rising controversy over Yahoo Inc.'s alleged role in the Chinese government's imprisonment of a second dissident. "I don't like any American company ratting out a citizen for speaking out against their government," Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat and member of the House Human Rights Subcommittee, told Reuters. "This is the tip of the iceberg of a very oppressive regime that we have almost become accustomed to in America," said Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican and chairman of the House Human Rights Subcommittee. The storm over Western media companies' compliance with Chinese policies comes before a hearing next week by Smith's committee. Lawmakers from both parties are expected to grill representatives from Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-02-10T075233Z_01_N0917515_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHINA-INTERNET.xml