Businesses say Chinese Internet control undermines trade

China's strong control of Internet communication undermines human rights and has significant impact on its relationship with the United States, witnesses told a joint congressional-executive commission.

"Addressing Chinese censorship as a trade barrier is a legitimate, multilateral and potentially effective approach that needs to be pursued by our government at the highest levels," Ed Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association said at the hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. As the country that led the way in developing the Internet, the United States must likewise lead the effort to hold the Chinese government accountable, Black said. Gilbert Kaplan, president of the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws, said China imposes "debilitating" burdens on foreign Internet service providers, and the censorship of websites can "inhibit or prevent altogether" the ability of U.S. companies to do businesses. "China's blocking and filtering measures, and the fog of uncertainty surrounding what China's censors will and will not permit, violate numerous of China's international obligations," Kaplan said. "The negative impact of these violations on America's premier Internet companies is profound."