Online censorship is a topic of discussion that has a lot of controversy and yet is becoming more and more relevant as technology and the web are becoming more widely accessed and used around the world. One of the most debated topics of online censorship is the infringement upon freedom of speech. Amnesty International has stated its intent to participate “in the multi-stakeholder initiative, an effort that emphasizes the upholding of international standards in the face of government crack-downs on human rights” (Yahoo in China). In other words, the general international standard of a protection of the freedom of speech is challenged by many stringent government laws.
An important question to ask is why governments limit freedom of speech in the first place! “To Americans and other Westerners, it might seem odd that Internet censorship is still possible at a time when YouTube, satellite TV and online chat rooms produce an overwhelming flow of real-time news and data”(Cracking the ‘Great Firewall’). In most cases, such as in China, it comes down to an attempt to keep the peace amongst the population and protect against individuals who may instigate a spread of ideas contrary to what the government wants popular belief to be. “China has policed the Internet with assistance from U.S. firms. Cisco Systems, for instance, supplied the original routers China used to monitor Internet traffic” (Cracking the ‘Great Firewall’). While this restriction of freedom of speech is in itself quite controversial, what makes the issue even more complicated is the fact that “governments around the world are asking companies, including Yahoo!, to comply with their efforts to repress people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy” (Yahoo in China). This puts many technology companies from the U.S., one of the most liberal places when it comes to freedom of speech, in a position in which they must adjust their own censorship requirements to those of the host country.
While I am greatly opposed to the suppression of freedom of expression, I do think that these technology companies still have a lot to offer in terms of services for other countries (even if the censorship laws do not align with those of the United States). Google, for example, had previously been offering a version of its services that had conformed to the government’s censorship policies. “At the time, Google officials said they’d decided that the most ethical option was to offer some services—albeit restricted by China’s censors—to the enormous Chinese market, rather than leave millions of Internet users with limited access to information” (Google Quit China). Yahoo has strived to maintain a balance between the two: it “balance[s] the requirement to comply with laws that are not necessarily consistent with [its] own values against [its] strong belief that active involvement in China contributes to the continued modernization of the country as well as a benefit to Chinese citizens through the advancement of communications, commerce and access to information” (Yahoo in China).
I personally believe that technology companies accommodating to these oppressive systems is a double-edged sword. In a sense, it can almost be equated to a parent being asked to discipline someone else’s child temporarily. Do you adjust to what the other parent’s child is used to so that they do not become confused and get disciplined even worse from their own parent? Or do you stand by your own principles for your own peace of mind, hopefully to instill in the other parent what you believe to be right and true (and thus expose the child to this challenged view as well)? Who are we to say that we know what is right and true, though? This is complicated. I myself am an advocate of challenging this oppression of a freedom to opinion and expression. If no one’s going to question the oppressive parent, who will? I think that we all deserve a voice and that creativity and innovation flow freely when we are willing to hear others.
Is it ethical for technology companies to provide tools that illegally circumvent such restrictions? Remotely, outside of the country’s borders, I don’t see the major concern. Within the borders of the country, however, when it puts into question the safety of the citizens using such tools, I am much more hesitant. I do believe that online censorship is a very important issue in today’s world, especially with the complexity of what has been going on as of late. I think hearing from individuals around the globe most affected by oppression is what the world needs in order to enact justice. Although I don’t believe it to be ethical for technology companies to neither comply to oppressive government laws nor jeopardize the safety of citizens within the country by providing tools to evade the system, I think there is a lot they can do with their OWN voice by publicly advocating for freedom of opinion and expression around the world in affirming its own beliefs.
Ethics & Professional Issues 