Critics Press Companies on Internet Rights Issues

[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tom Zeller, Jr]
A group of two dozen fund management firms and investment analysts issued a joint statement yesterday urging businesses to adopt policies addressing freedom of expression. The move comes in the wake of public controversy over the decision by Yahoo's Beijing division to cooperate with Chinese authorities seeking to identify the user of a Yahoo e-mail address in China last year. That incident has put a spotlight on the actions of several Internet and technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Cisco, which human rights and press freedom groups have long said were acquiescing too readily to the demands of repressive regimes. The group, which organized and helped draft yesterday's announcement, turned to "socially responsible" investment firms in an attempt to reach shareholders. Twenty-six companies and organizations representing about $21 billion in assets signed the joint resolution. The petition affirms a commitment among the investors to monitor and evaluate technology companies' relations with authoritarian regimes, and to introduce and support shareholder resolutions that support freedom of expression.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/technology/08data.html
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