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A number of technology companies defended themselves Monday against charges made by human rights group Amnesty International that they are assisting the Chinese government's efforts to censor the Internet.

The report, published last week, singled out Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Websense as vendors that have "provided important technology which helps the Chinese authorities censor the Internet."

Cooperation Denied

Microsoft and Cisco said Monday that they merely provide technology and don't control how customers use that technology.

"Our customers, not Cisco Systems, determine the specific uses for the capabilities of these products," a company representative said. A Microsoft spokesperson also echoed that sentiment.

Websense said it doesn't have contracts with the Chinese central government. The company sells employee Internet management software.

"We only sell our software to companies so that they can prevent employees from gaining access to certain sites such as pornography and gambling. The Chinese government isn't a customer, but we are investigating the charge made in the report to determine its basis," said Geoff Haggart, Websense vice president for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

Sun and Nortel did not respond to requests for comment.

But in a statement promoting its report, Amnesty International urged companies to take more responsibility in policing how its technology is used.

"As China's role as an economic and trading partner grows, multinational companies have a particular responsibility to ensure that their technology is not used to violate fundamental human rights," Amnesty International said in the statement.

Cases Cited

The censorship issues were brought up in a larger report that also detailed the detainment or imprisonment of 33 people in China in connection with use of the Internet.

Citing media reports and the work of Greg Walton, a researcher at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Montreal, as the basis for its claims, Amnesty International also pointed to Nortel Networks "along with some other international firms" as providing China with the technology that will help the government "shift from filtering content at the international gateway level to filtering content of individual computers, in homes, Internet cafes, universities, and businesses."

The 33 cases detailed in the report do not necessarily point to a crack down on activities conducted over the Internet--China arrests activists on a regular basis and in many cases the Internet is not involved -- but it does illustrate the watchful eye that the state keeps on the roughly 54 million people that are now said to use the Internet in China.

Earlier this year, China imposed new regulations obliging Internet service providers to more closely monitor online activities. Internet cafes were recently told to install monitoring software that blocks certain Web sites, according to the report.

China's first Internet arrest took place in 1998 when Lin Hai, a software company owner in Shanghai, was arrested for "inciting the overthrow of state power" after he provided 30,000 Chinese e-mail addresses to a U.S. based human rights and activist group. Lin was sentenced to two years imprisonment in early 1999 but released six months early in 2001.

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