Tech firms must reject the Chinese authorities efforts to influence global internet governance in ways that would curb freedom of expression and exacerbate human rights abuses, Amnesty International said ahead of China hosting a major internet summit. The Chinese authorities are trying to rewrite the rules of the internet so censorship and surveillance become the norm everywhere…Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International…

“Tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft, must be prepared to say no to China’s repressive internet regime and put people and principles before profits.”…

Governments across the globe are increasingly using technology to crackdown on freedom of expression, censor information on human rights violations and corruption, and to carry out indiscriminate mass surveillance in the name of security, often in collaboration with corporate actors…

Internet companies have a responsibility to respect international human rights in their global operations. This entails putting pro-active measures in place so that serious human rights abuses can be avoided. A law requiring companies to store and share private information with the Chinese authorities without sufficient safeguards and adequate oversight would require them to act contrary to their responsibility to respect human rights – companies should challenge such measures in order to respect freedom of expression and related rights. They should not voluntarily and uncritically disclose private information because of the serious implications that this would have.