Irrepressible

Oh, that wacky Amnesty Interntional!

Their latest campaign: End Internet censorship in China.

How?

Sign their petition, of course.

Right. That's sure to do the trick.

From Amnesty International, UK:

Amnesty International today (20 July) urged users of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google to use their power as consumers to help end corporate complicity in suppression of the internet in China. The call to action - part of a new campaign for free speech online called irrepressible.info - came as Amnesty launched a new report accusing the firms of hypocrisy by talking about freedom of expression and access to information while denying it in order to access the lucrative Chinese market.

The report calls on the companies to come clean and reveal which words they have banned from blogs or filtered out of web searches in China, and make public all agreements with the Chinese authorities. Amnesty is also asking Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google to publicly call for the release of 'cyber-dissidents' jailed for expressing peaceful opinions online, and to stand up to the Chinese authorities by exhausting all legal appeals before complying with demands that run counter to human rights.

Amnesty is calling on UK users of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google to email the companies directly and use their online feedback forms, to call for changes to the way they operate in China.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

'Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google have all facilitated or colluded in China's censorship of the net. They claim they are obeying local laws when in fact they are succumbing to political pressure.

...'All businesses claim to 'put the customer first' - but these companies don't seem to be listening to users in China. So we want them to hear from customers here in the UK. If enough people tell them that they're not happy with their actions in China, we hope it will make them think again.'

I don't agree with the way Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google are selling out on principles to secure profits; but I don't deny that it's smart business. They're looking at the bottom line. China is an enormous market with enormous potential, and the companies are looking to do what successful companies should do -- make money.

Well, Yahoo had a rough day yesterday, losing over $10 billion in shareholder wealth, but its future still looks bright.

I digress.

The point is I don't believe that capitalist pursuits necessarily require the abandonment of moral principles. In that sense, I share Amnesty International's concern about Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google's complicity with the Chinese government's Internet suppression.

What I question in regard to this AI campaign is the wisdom of the petition tactic.

I think signing petitions give people a false sense of involvement and accomplishment.

I'm sure AI's campaign will be just as successful as Jim Doyle's petition drive, demanding that President Bush and Congress put a cap on the profits of oil companies. In other words, it will be a complete bust.

View AI's site devoted to battling Internet censorship.

Be irrepressible

Sign our pledge on Internet freedom to call on all governments and companies to ensure the Internet is a force for political freedom, not repression.

Undermine censorship by publishing irrepressible fragments of censored material on your own site. The more people take part, the more we can defeat unwarranted censorship and create an unstoppable network of protest.

The irony is people are probably using Microsoft Windows and a Yahoo or Google search engine to get to the AI site and the "Irrespressible" campaign page. They could be sending letters of complaint to Yahoo or Google using their Yahoo or Gmail email accounts.

Do you think that this online pledge drive will make the companies reconsider their dealings with China?

No chance.