U.S. technology has been used to block, censor Net for years

[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:]
[Commentary] If you think there's something new or unique about Google censoring its Chinese website or Websense helping Yemen filter the Net — well, I hate to disappoint you. Those congressmen acting surprised about this stuff are either grandstanding or ignorant, or maybe both. To varying degrees, U.S. tech companies help repressive regimes around the world sift, block and censor the Net. They've been doing it for years. The U.S. Web-filtering companies either sell to China or want to. Websense, Blue Coat, Secure Computing and SurfControl all have offices in China. They'd be irresponsible if they didn't. Now Google is there, white-washing its search results for users inside China. Yahoo has given user data to Chinese law enforcement, resulting in arrests of dissidents. The companies got hauled before a blustery Rep. Lantos for basically doing what American tech companies do — selling the stuff to just about anyone who wants to buy it, and making the customers happy. “Can you say in English that you're ashamed of what your company and what the other companies have done?” Lantos frothed last week. “Congressman, I can't,” said Google Vice President Elliot Schrage. “I don't think it's fair to say that we're ashamed.” Nothing in the American business coda says they should be. Now the question for all of us is: Do we want to change that?
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060222/maney22.art.htm