In China, Yahoo! has handed over private information that led to the imprisonment of two journalists, Shi Tao and Li Zhi, both of whom have been adopted by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. The company has also voluntarily signed China's "Public Pledge on Self-discipline for the Chinese Internet Industry," agreeing to censor and deny access to information.

In China, Microsoft shut down the blog of New York Times researcher Zhao Jing at the government's request. The company also obeys directions from the Chinese authorities to limit use of certain terms -- like "democracy" and "human rights" on MSN Spaces.

In China, Google has launched a censored version of its international search engine.

AI calls on the companies to be transparent about their dealings with the Chinese authorities, revealing details of agreements and Web filtering arrangements. AI asks the companies to publicly state their principled opposition to implementing requests that flout human rights standards and to call for the release of "cyber-dissidents." And the organization also calls on companies to exhaust all judicial processes and appeals before complying with government requests with human rights implications, such as providing e-mail account details.

The release of the report marks the launch of AI's new global campaign against Internet censorship, centered on the new Web site http://irrepressible.info. The site enables members of the public to fight Internet repression in three main ways:

"Irrepressible.info is an opportunity to take global action to defend free speech online. Internet users around the world can call for the Web to be a tool for communication, not incarceration," said Mila Rosenthal, Director of AIUSA's Business and Human Rights Program.

The release of Undermining Freedom of Expression in China and launch of irrepressible.info continue AIUSA's work on combating Internet censorship. Anthony Cruz, AIUSA's Corporate Action Network Coordinator for California, recently addressed both the Google and Yahoo! stockholders' meetings, confronting the management of both companies about their human rights practices face-to-face. In February, AIUSA Advocacy Director for Asia and the Pacific T. Kumar testified at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Members' Briefing on human rights and the Internet in China.

AIUSA has worked to support the Global Online Freedom Act of 2006, introduced in March by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), which aims to protect free and open communication online globally before repressive countries succeed in developing an entirely separate, heavily censored, widely surveilled and restricted version of the Internet.

For more information on Amnesty International's work combating Internet censorship, please see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/censorship.html