Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Vodafone display some balls ... finally!

The power of free speech is truly coming back to the people, but not for lack of users trying to freely express themselves.

Today a new website was launched at www.globalnetworkinitiative.org  where a strategy for supporting human rights and addressing how online businesses can operate in troubled markets, at the same time, has been announced.

The move comes after more than two years of planning induced by ongoing criticism over how the likes of Google, Yahoo and others have made concessions to authoritarian governments like China, Egypt and Iran.

Rebecca MacKinnon gives an in depth view on the plans
"Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Cisco and others have been getting a lot of heat over the past year for colluding with human rights violations and state censorship in countries like China. Fortunately, three of those four companies have found the wherewithal to do more than just duck and cover.

....

Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Vodafone are now committed publicly to a process "which aims to produce a set of principles guiding company behavior when faced with laws, regulations and policies that interfere with the achievement of human rights." As BSR's CEO Aron Cramer put it: "This important dialogue reflects a shared commitment to maximize the information available via the internet on the basis of global principles protecting free expression and privacy."

 

 See Google's blog on the issue here
Read Write Web have some good info too and they also refer to Rebecca MacKinnon's blog.
To read the full blog see; Rebecca MacKinnon's conversation with the Web
or see her blog at http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/

Time will tell where this goes and how it gets there.

Many articles i have read so far elude to the changes coming from the big companies dominating the internet and communications industries, but I believe without the massive increase of tools online which engage users there would be no motivation for change.

The key here is to note the same thing which is happening to newspapers, which is eroding away of their editorial power is now happening to governments.

People are taking control of what they read and what they share with others more and more.

Governments' ability to censor and control the information passed on to and by their citizens is weakening.

Its a revolution.... but its taking too long to happen...