Are U.S. companies responsible when the Chinese government deploys their technology to stifle free speech on the internet?
Human rights groups want to hold such companies responsible for
facilitating restrictive government policies. Defenders of the
companies point out that by hooking China up to the World Wide Web, the
companies have done much more to expand freedoms in China than to
stifle them.
According to ONI, it is difficult to believe that Cisco, Nortel
Networks, Sun Microsystems, Juniper, and 3COM do not know how their
products will be used by certain customers.
Then the question is whether there should be consequences for companies
found to be knowingly aiding censorship and political repression.