"Amnesty International first reported on the issue of freedom of expression and information in November 2002. In the report State control of the Internet in China, Amnesty cited several foreign companies - Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, Websense and Sun Microsystems - which had reportedly provided technology used to censor and control the use of the Internet in China. Following the publication of the report, several companies dismissed allegations that their company's actions might be contributing to human rights violations in China. Cisco Systems denied that the company tailors its products for the Chinese market, saying that "[I]f the government of China wants to monitor the Internet, that's their business. We are basically politically neutral." Microsoft said it "focused on delivering the best technology to people throughout the world", but that it "cannot control the way it may ultimately be used."
... In January 2007, Amnesty joined a multi-stakeholder initiative with academics, socially responsible investment firms, other experts and companies including Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! to develop a set of voluntary principles to promote and respect human rights on the Internet. Amnesty welcomes the companies' commitment to the initiative and hopes that our participation in it will help establish a strong set of human rights principles for the industry. Additionally, we continue to support legislative efforts like the Global Online Freedom Act, as the companies' current and past practices remain of serious concern."
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