Yahoo! may have to GOFA itself

A Republican member of Congress has decided to act normal for a change.

At long last, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-New Jersey) has introduced a much-needed bill called the Global Online Freedom Act. GOFA would forbid Internet companies from helping totalitarian foreign regimes find and convict citizens for daring to promote human rights.

This follows a mid-decade scandal in which Yahoo! was found to have ratted out journalists to the Chinese government - an act that resulted in draconian prison sentences for the dissidents.

In 2007, Congress asked Yahoo! to provide the names of dissenters who they had snitched on and to say whether Yahoo! was still aiding China's repression. Yahoo! promised to answer Congress, but never did.

Republicans have prevented legislation like GOFA from passing before. Lawmakers have feared that GOFA may hurt the pwecious widdle feewings of dictators they befriend. To these legislators, I say tough shit. American companies should not be turning folks in to foreign dictatorships just because they advocate democracy.

(Source: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3868084)