Jan. 13, 2010: Congressman Tim Ryan Makes Statement on Google

Warren, OH – U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan released the following statement on the announcement by Google concerning its business in China:

“Four years ago, I hosted a briefing on Internet freedom in China before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which is now the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. An invitation was extended to Google executives, so that they might explain their rationale for launching a censored domestic version of Google in China.  That invitation was declined.

China has one of the most sophisticated content-filtering Internet regimes in the world.  Chinese authorities rely upon the resources, cooperation, and technology of American companies – including Google – to carry out basic human rights violations including the suppression of free speech and free press.  The Chinese government has done everything in its power to deny its citizens the freedom of the Internet: monitoring all information, deleting phrases like “Dalai Lama”, “Tiananmen Square massacre”, “democracy”, and “Voice of America” from websites, and utilizing routers that block banned sites altogether.

A free and open internet in China has significant potential to positively impact the lives of its citizens. It is about time that Google rethought its position on the censorship of its search engine. Human rights and democratic values should never be come in second to the search for profits. When American corporations defer to repressive policies like those that China inflicts upon its own people, it sends a signal that America is no longer the champion of free and open societies throughout the world.”

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