U.S. has met with China on Internet freedom

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A Chinese national flag flies in front of Google China's headquarters in Beijing, January 15, 2010. REUTERS/Alfred Jin

A Chinese national flag flies in front of Google China's headquarters in Beijing, January 15, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Alfred Jin

WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:46am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has had multiple meetings with Chinese authorities over Internet freedom and will have more in the coming days, a top State Department official said on Tuesday amid continuing tensions between Google and Beijing.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters that Washington viewed free and open Internet use as a "universal right that should be available to all people."

"The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy," he said.

"The U.S. government has had multiple meetings with Chinese authorities on this matter and will have more in the coming days," Campbell added.

Google said last week that it and other companies were targets of sophisticated cyber-spying from China, and threatened to pull out of the country.

"We take this matter very seriously," Campbell said. "The whole issue does raise serious concerns."

He said China had denied the allegations made by Google. Campbell said Washington believed Chinese authorities were in the best position to explain the situation, "and we are asking them for an explanation."

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Eric Beech)
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Comments (3)
Gesar wrote:
China’s attacks against Google & other US companies is not only a federal crime but an act of cyberwarfare by another state. This attack should be investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security & the Pentagon. The US should not allow China to attack US citizens via cyberwarfare. All US companies doing business in China are vulnerable & should beef up their cybersecurity, if not consider divesting from China to protect their own interests. Everyone engaged in improving human rights in China, whether private citizen or govt official, should update their virus protection protocols, change their passwords frequently & be alert for malicious emails from China.

Jan 20, 2010 10:24am EST  --  Report as abuse
Willie12345 wrote:
Perhaps, the “WORLD COMMUNITY” should unplug China from the Internet. The use it for spying and thief of intellectual property. The “WORLD COMMUNITY” is such a powerful and noble force.

Jan 20, 2010 10:31am EST  --  Report as abuse
davidbobrien wrote:
China governs in a different way than the US, obviously. It’s based on a different history, culture, and philosophy (which goes back long before communism, though that’s a factor as well). As an American who’s lived in China, I HIGHLY respect many of the ways the Chinese government governs; they’re successful in many ways that the US fails. In some areas, the US is more successful. To force a country to open up the entire internet, as if access to all of it is an innate human right–this is a bully move. Currently, China has successfully protected its people from many aspects of the internet the US has not been able to control. Fellow Americans, let’s learn from what’s working abroad and not try to export all of what we have and do–especially to countries and cultures very different than ours, of which we seriously lack understanding.

Thankfully for their people, the Chinese government has not blindly accepted as “gospel” everything the US government has preached, because it’s not. And the authority of the US does not extend past its own borders.

Jan 20, 2010 9:23pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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