Profits trump freedom ... even on the Internet. Let censorship ring on the Net, in your P2P, and through your music and video files.

amnesty International came out with a report called "Undermining freedom of expression in China: The role of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google" (PDF). Would you surprised if it called the companies hypocrites.

The Internet leaders have claimed that a censored Internet is better than none, and so capitulated to the Chinese goverment's demand for filtering search results. But that argument doesn't wash with reality.

Said the report:

"The reality is that the Internet has had an established presence in China for over a decade, which means that the world's major Internet companies can no longer be considered to be helping bring the Internet to China. Instead, they are attempting to gain an increasing share of a rapidly growing market in the knowledge that it will expand with or without their presence. In effect, their activities are facilitating and sanctioning government censorship rather than challenging it. Companies appear to have been all too ready to accept the limitations imposed rather than exerting pressure for legislative and policy change. ... While Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google argue that their mere presence in China will expedite political reform, the authorities have kept pace in the race between freedom of expression and suppression of dissent. China's system of Internet filtering has become more effective."