American companies aiding persecutors?

There was an interesting article in the Newsweek magazine that arrived in my mailbox yesterday. The article discusses how U.S. companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are building censorship into the products they sell in China which allow the Communist government there to control what web sites Chinese citizens can access and view.

The last time I was in China, I heard that the Chinese government had just hired THOUSANDS of "internet policemen" to monitor internet and email use by Chinese citizens.  The free flow of information is fundamentally incompatible with a dictatorial, controlled society, and the Communist government is understandably nervous about their ability to maintain control if all Chinese citizens have unlimited access to information from around the world.

As readers of this blog know, controlling information is just one aspect of Chinese government philosophy.  Controlling religious expression is another, and results in many of our brothers and sisters there being persecuted for their faith in Christ.

What is amazing is that American companies are helping out! They are quietly bowing to the wishes of the Chinese government in order to maintain access to more than a billion potential customers. They are putting dollars ahead of liberty; literally selling out freedom loving people in China for a few pieces of silver.

Instead of helping a repressive regime maintain control, perhaps these companies should be helping promote freedom of information in China. If you are a customer (and most of us are), let Google, Microsoft and Yahoo know that they should stand for freedom.

Todd Nettleton is the director of News Services at The Voice of the Martyrs-USA.