Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Google Abetting Chinese Suppression of Internet

When I reported last week that the Chinese Communists were seeking to control free speech on the internet it didn't occur to me that companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Google would be eager to make a few bucks helping the Chicoms out. From Agence France Presse (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) - Users of Microsoft's new China-based Internet portal were blocked from using the words "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights" in an apparent move by the US software giant to appease Beijing.

Other words that could not be used on Microsoft's free online blog service MSN Spaces include "Taiwan independence" and "demonstration".

Bloggers who enter such words or other politically charged or pornographic content are prompted with a message that reads: "This item should not contain forbidden speech such as profanity. Please enter a different word for this item".

Officials at Microsoft's Beijing offices refused to comment Monday.

Yahoo! and Google -- the two most popular Internet search engines -- have already been criticized for cooperating with the Chinese government to censor the Internet.

Google has already more or less aligned itself with our enemies, but Yahoo! and Dollar Bill Gates should know better.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with turning a profit, but there's something soul-blackening about turning a profit by providing the means of a people's oppression.

Ironically, the AFP story quoted above is being carried on Yahoo! Asia News.

Via Captain's Quarters.