China defends web censorship after Google threat

CYBER WARS

White House backs Google in China showdown
Washington (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - The White House on Thursday backed Google's decision to no longer submit to China's Internet censorship in a row the search giant warns could lead it to pull out of the country. "We strongly support Google's action," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, recalling that President Barack Obama had spoken out publicly in favor of Internet freedoms during a webcast event in Shanghai last year. "The president has strong beliefs about the universal rights of men and women throughout the globe. Those aren't carved out for certain countries," Gibbs said. Obama's spokesman however avoided a question on whether the Google row could threaten wider US-China relations, which Obama has attempted to improve since coming to office last year.

Gibbs on Wednesday declined to go into details about the extent of the administration's discussions with Google about its showdown with the Chinese government. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked for an explanation from China for what Google said was a wave of "highly sophisticated" cyberattacks aimed at Chinese human rights activists. Google announced on Tuesday that it would stop bowing to Chinese Internet censors and could pull out of the world's largest online market of 360 million users. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Jiang Yu said Thursday that the Chinese government administered the Internet "according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the Internet."

Hailing Google, US lawmakers seek Internet law
Washington (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - US lawmakers on Thursday sought to prevent Internet companies from censoring information overseas, hailing Google's threat to pull out of China as a turning point but saying it needed official support. Members of Congress said they had new momentum to enact a bill that would prohibit US firms from storing users' personal information in countries that restrict the peaceful expression of political and religious views online. "Google sent a thrill of encouragement through the hearts of millions of Chinese," Representative Chris Smith, the bill's chief sponsor, told a news conference. "It is a game-changer." "But IT companies are not powerful enough to stand up to a repressive government like China. Without US government support, they are inevitably forced to be ever more complicit in the repressive governments' censorship and surveillance," said Smith, a Republican from New Jersey. Under the bill, called the Global Online Freedom Act, the US government would list nations that restrict the Internet and prohibit US companies from storing personally identifiable information in those countries.

Companies would have to report to the State Department which terms countries are trying to filter out. China blocks citizens from accessing uncensored information on sensitive topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the Dalai Lama and the banned Falungong spiritual movement. The bill would also prohibit companies from cooperating in jamming US government websites such as US-funded broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Google said Tuesday said it would stop bowing to China's censors and could pull out of the China's lucrative online market of 360 million users after discovering Chinese attacks against dissidents' email accounts. Smith has tried for years to bring the Global Online Freedom Act to the floor of the House of Representatives but it had met a lukewarm response from Internet companies including Google. Smith declined to say if he expected other companies to lobby against the bill but said his concerns have focused on actions by four US companies -- Cisco, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Jan 15, 2010
China declared its Internet "open" Thursday but defended censorship that has prompted web giant Google to threaten to pull out of the country, adding a potential new irritant in China-US relations.

But Google -- backed by the White House -- appeared to be winning the battle for hearts and minds, with Chinese online users flooding the web and visiting the company's Beijing offices to express support and urge the Internet giant not to leave China.

"The Chinese government administers the Internet according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the Internet," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

Jiang's comment marked China's most direct response yet after Google's shock announcement Tuesday that it would stop bowing to Chinese Internet censors and could pull out of the world's largest online market of 360 million users.

Google said the move was a protest against censorship and what it called "highly sophisticated" cyber attacks on its systems, which were aimed at Chinese human rights activists and believed to have originated in China.

China employs a vast system of web censorship dubbed the "Great Firewall of China" that blocks content such as political dissent, pornography and other information viewed as objectionable.

But at Google's offices in Beijing, dozens of supporters stopped by to voice their support, leaving messages, flowers and fruit.

"Goodbye Google. You can build the wall, but you can't separate the hearts of the people. We want to see the other side of the wall," said a message from one supporter.

"Freedom?" said another message in English and Chinese.

The Chinese spokeswoman Jiang declared the country's Internet "open" but declined to offer a detailed response to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for China to explain the alleged cyber attacks.

"I believe if there are some appeals for that, (authorities) will investigate it," Jiang said at the regular news briefing.

She refused to elaborate, and also refused to comment when asked repeatedly whether the purported attacks originated in China and were orchestrated by the government.

The White House backed Google Thursday. "We strongly support Google's action," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, recalling that President Barack Obama had spoken out publicly in favour of Internet freedoms during a webcast event in Shanghai last year.

But he avoided a question on whether the Google row could threaten wider US-China relations, which Obama has attempted to improve since coming to office last year.

The issue was shaping up as the latest item on a growing list of disputes between China and the United States over trade, climate change and human rights.

In another development Thursday, US lawmakers sought to prevent Internet companies from censoring information overseas, hailing Google's move as a turning point.

Members of Congress said they had new momentum to enact a bill that would prohibit US firms from storing users' personal information in countries that restrict the peaceful expression of political and religious views online.

Meanwhile state media said Chinese parliamentary leader Wu Bangguo told a group of visiting US senators the two sides should "respect each other's core interests and properly handle sensitive affairs," without specifically mentioning Google.

The statement by Wu -- nominally China's second-ranking political figure -- is typically used by Beijing to express displeasure about what they view as unwanted interference in Chinese affairs.

A Chinese official said tight Internet controls were needed, saying the nation's online environment faced "severe challenges" as it grew and became more central to the nation's economy.

Wang Chen, head of the central government's information office, said in comments on the government's website that the nation must "strive to build a healthy, civilised, safe and orderly" Internet environment.

Such wording is usually employed to justify censorship.

Chinese Internet users flooded the web with messages of support for Google and the ideal of a free and open online environment.

"It's not Google that's withdrawing from China, it's China that's withdrawing from the world," one user said on Twitter, a sentiment echoed in other tweets. The micro-blogging site is currently blocked by Beijing.

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CYBER WARS

Google case throws spotlight on cyber-attackers
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 14, 2010
While the average hacker might once have been a mischievous teenager or cybercrook, today's Internet attackers are increasingly likely to be state-sponsored or fighting for political goals, experts said. Attacks against Internet giant Google and other firms -- blamed on China-based cyber spies -- have raised fresh questions about the role of governments in web warfare. Google said Tuesda ... read more

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