10 Corporate Accountability in Networked Asia
Rebecca MacKinnon
In 2010, Google ’ s defi ance of Chinese government censorship demands, followed by
its decision to remove its Chinese search operations from mainland China, grabbed
front-page headlines around the world. Human rights groups and socially responsible
investors praised the global Internet giant for standing up to the Chinese government ’ s
censorship policies. China ’ s sophisticated system of Internet censorship and control
depends on the compliance of domestic and foreign corporate intermediaries, which
are required by Chinese law to help authorities track user activity and to remove or
prevent publication and transmission of politically sensitive content on or through
their services.
Yet China is by no means the only Asian country where companies face government pressure to reveal user data or remove content in ways that violate internationally recognized human rights principles. Local and international human rights groups
point to Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, and the Philippines as countries where “ Chinesestyle ” Internet controls are increasingly deployed to silence or monitor dissent, often
implemented by means of private-sector information and communication technologies (ICTs) service providers, carriers, and platforms.
1 Reporters Without Borders
includes Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, and South Korea on its watch list of
countries with surveillance trends heading in the wrong direction.
2
Recent studies of global surveillance and censorship by the OpenNet Initiative
(ONI) and others are showing that private-sector Internet and telecommunications
companies play an increasingly important role in government efforts to control what
citizens can or cannot do in cyberspace.
3 Even in Asia ’ s most vibrant democracies such
as South Korea and India, companies — domestic and foreign — face government
demands for censorship and user-data handover in ways that violate Internet users ’
rights to free expression and privacy.
The idea that upholding free expression and privacy rights should be a component
of “ corporate social responsibility ” (CSR) — alongside other corporate responsibilities
including labor standards, environmental protection, and sustainability — is a new
concept for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), investors, companies, and
Rebecca MacKinnon
In 2010, Google ’ s defi ance of Chinese government censorship demands, followed by
its decision to remove its Chinese search operations from mainland China, grabbed
front-page headlines around the world. Human rights groups and socially responsible
investors praised the global Internet giant for standing up to the Chinese government ’ s
censorship policies. China ’ s sophisticated system of Internet censorship and control
depends on the compliance of domestic and foreign corporate intermediaries, which
are required by Chinese law to help authorities track user activity and to remove or
prevent publication and transmission of politically sensitive content on or through
their services.
Yet China is by no means the only Asian country where companies face government pressure to reveal user data or remove content in ways that violate internationally recognized human rights principles. Local and international human rights groups
point to Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, and the Philippines as countries where “ Chinesestyle ” Internet controls are increasingly deployed to silence or monitor dissent, often
implemented by means of private-sector information and communication technologies (ICTs) service providers, carriers, and platforms.
1 Reporters Without Borders
includes Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, and South Korea on its watch list of
countries with surveillance trends heading in the wrong direction.
2
Recent studies of global surveillance and censorship by the OpenNet Initiative
(ONI) and others are showing that private-sector Internet and telecommunications
companies play an increasingly important role in government efforts to control what
citizens can or cannot do in cyberspace.
3 Even in Asia ’ s most vibrant democracies such
as South Korea and India, companies — domestic and foreign — face government
demands for censorship and user-data handover in ways that violate Internet users ’
rights to free expression and privacy.
The idea that upholding free expression and privacy rights should be a component
of “ corporate social responsibility ” (CSR) — alongside other corporate responsibilities
including labor standards, environmental protection, and sustainability — is a new
concept for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), investors, companies, and