Congressman quizzes Net companies on shame:
Lantos, to Yahoo: Are you ashamed?Yahoo: We are very distressed about the consequences of having to comply with Chinese law…We are certainly troubled by that and we look forward to working with our peers.
Lantos: Do you think that individuals or families have been negatively impacted by some of the activities we have been told, like being in prison for 10 years? Have any of the companies reached out to these families and asked if you could be of any help to them?
Yahoo: We have expressed our condemnation of the prosecution of this person, expressed our views to the Chinese government…We have approached the Chinese government on these issues.
Lantos: Have you reached out to the family? I can ask it 10 more times if you refuse to answer it. You are under oath.
This same grand standing pompous hypocrite not only voted to invade Iraq, but he also voted for the ratification of the USA PATRIOT Act. Ever heard of secret military tribunals? Warrantless searches and wiretaps? Confiscation of library records and liens on bank accounts? If there was ever a single set of legislation considered to arguably stifle American civil liberties since the Alien and Sedition Acts, the PATRIOT Act does so splendidly. See also the ACLU and EFF.
Note: I am not necessarily excusing the behavior of the Internet firms either. This is merely an illustration of the pot calling the kettle black. Here is Google’s reasoning behind creating a Google.cn domain (Google.com is still accessible in China is entirely unfiltered by Google).
As Mark Twain succinctly put it: “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”