Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft urged not to censor search

March 7, 2009 · Filed Under News · Comment

In an attempt to protest against Cyber Censorship, the rights groups on Friday called on Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft requesting not to censor their web search engines for the 12th of March, the World Day Against Cyber Censorship.

According to the letter sent to the search engine giants by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, “World Day Against Cyber Censorship is a day to advance and celebrate a free Internet as an open window to the world and denounce the attacks made on the free flow of information online.”

They further added, “We urge you, on March 12th, to champion the vision of the Internet as a free space for everyone, regardless of nationality or geographic location, and fulfill the idea of a truly worldwide Web — even if just for one day.”

China has for long been exercising a strict control the Internet usage, blocking websites linked to Chinese dissidents, the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement, the Tibetan government-in-exile and the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

In the recent years, many tech giants including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Cisco, have been accused of involvement in building the “Great Firewall of China.”

Google has been severely criticized for acting in accordance with Chinese government’s policy to filter Internet searches.

Tags: Cyber Censorship, Google, Internet, Microsoft, search, websites, Yahoo