Nothing significant has happened so far, but lawmakers are working with the private sector to see what can be done
The
United States government has opened dialogue with Google, American
tech companies, and ISPs that have had trouble operating in China.
"We are still dialoguing not just with Google, but
with other Internet providers, to make sure we fully understand
what is happening in China," said U.S. Trade Representative Ron
Kick in a statement during the National Press Club.
Google,
Microsoft, Yahoo, and other American companies – along with several
European companies – must adhere to strict Chinese laws when
operating within the country, and companies have been punished if
they step out of line.
Both Republican Representative Chris
Smith and Democratic Representative David Wu plan to host a reported
bipartisan Global Internet Freedom Caucus that will help discuss the
digital world. For example, Wu is interested in freeing up
grant money for computer programmers who are able to create methods
for users in China and other nations to get around censored
material.
Google was so angry when hackers stole information
that it announced it would uncensor Chinese internet search results
-- but the company currently is still censoring Chinese topics
including Tibet, Fulung Gong, and other Chinese controversies.
Google doesn't have a firm date as to when censorship will end, but
did say earlier in the month it will take place at some point.
The
issue didn't seem like a major political issue until a probe
indicated two universities in China may
have been behind organized cyber attacks against Google.
If
Google plans
to uncensor its search engine in China, Microsoft said it doesn't
plan to follow at the moment.
"If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else." -- Microsoft Business Group President Jeff Raikes
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