A bill aimed at choking off US exports of technology used for Internet surveillance or censorship was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday...Representative Chris Smith...is behind the Global Online Freedom Act...The legislation would prohibit American companies from exporting hardware or software that could be used for online surveillance or censorship to nations that restrict the Internet. It would also require Internet companies listed on US stock exchanges to disclose to American regulators their practices in collecting and sharing personally identifiable information and steps taken to notify users when removing content. "This will apply not only to US companies but to the increasing number of foreign IT companies that raise capital here on our stock exchanges, including a large number of Chinese Internet companies...," Smith said...Clothilde Le Coz, Washington director of...Reporters Without Borders, told the hearing the legislation was a welcome step towards making companies more responsible and should be matched by similar efforts in Europe.