Emerald Management Review:
Just doing business or doing just business: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and the business of censoring China's Internet

Abstract:

Purpose - To argue that Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have provided the Chinese government with the means to assist it in the censorship of Chinese citizens, thereby violating the citizens' rights to trade information freely with each other.

Design/methodology/approach - The state of the Internet in China is documented, with details of how censorship works and what rights Chinese citizens are afforded by their laws. Frames the discussion of the business ethics of doing business in China in terms of the three features of a blameworthy act identified by Jones (1999) (knowing something is wrong, doing it intentionally, doing it freely or voluntarily) and the three basic kinds of excuses for morally blameworthy acts (ignorance, accident/mistake/negligence, coercion/lack of ability/lack of opportunity). Summarizes the testimony of representatives of Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to a US Congressional Committee ('The Internet in China: a tool for freedom or suppression', House of Representatives, 15 February 2006) to answer questions regarding their business dealings with China.

Findings - The authors conclude that the evidence indicates that Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have not shown criminal intent to harm Chinese citizens but they have been culpable in aiding a regime that violates citizens' rights and may, in the course of time, come to be seen as having helped to jail Chinese citizens. Concludes that companies that act in this way could be tainted by these actions and argues that the long-term benefits of resisting pressures to violate citizens' rights could outweigh the short term losses. Notes that work is currently underway to develop software that makes it more difficult to censor information.

Originality/value - Provides a clear and disturbing account of the shadow of government censorship that threatens the Internet.

Keywords:

Article Type:

General review

Reference:

Top