Web Companies Defend Their Activities In China

July 20, 2006; 03:34 AM

Google Inc. and the Chinese partner that runs Yahoo Inc.'s China operation, Alibaba.com, have defended their activities in China and said their presence benefits the public there.

Their comments follow an Amnesty International report Thursday that accused Yahoo, Microsoft and Google of violating human rights principles by cooperating with China's efforts to censor the Web and called on them to lobby for the release of jailed cyber-dissidents.

The London-based human rights group appealed to the Internet companies to publicly oppose Chinese government requests that violate human rights standards.

Google said in a written statement that its search engine discloses when results have been removed "in response to local laws and regulations" and that the company avoids offering services where it can't guarantee users' privacy.

Alibaba.com didn't respond directly to Amnesty's criticism but said its focus is on Internet commerce, not news and information.

"By creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and connecting China's exporters to buyers around the world, Alibaba.com and Yahoo China are having an overwhelmingly positive impact on the lives of average people in China," said Porter Erisman, an Alibaba.com spokesman, in a written statement.

A spokesman for Microsoft Corp. didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
China has the world's second-largest population of Internet users after the U.S., with 123 million people online. Though the communist government promotes Internet use, it has also set up an extensive surveillance and filtering system to prevent Chinese from seeing material considered obscene or politically subversive.