[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 15 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S447-S448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REAFFIRMING THE CENTRALITY OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PRESS FREEDOM
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 405 submitted earlier
today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 405) reaffirming the centrality of
freedom of expression and press freedom as cornerstones of
United States foreign policy and United States efforts to
promote individual rights, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be
laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any
statements be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 405) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 405
Whereas Google announced on January 12, 2010, the mid-
December 2009 discovery that it had been victimized by a
highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack on its
corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted
in the theft of its intellectual property;
Whereas Google also announced it had evidence to suggest
that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail
accounts of Chinese human rights activists, and that the
evidence revealed separate attempts to penetrate Gmail
accounts of Chinese human rights activists, journalists, and
dissidents in the United States, Europe, and China;
Whereas the targeting of Google is believed to be part of a
larger effort to access the computer networks of at least 34
companies, including major financial, defense, media, and
technology firms and research institutions in the United
States;
Whereas this attack was one in a series of attempts to
exploit security flaws and illegally access computer networks
of individuals and institutions through the clandestine
installation of phishing and malware technology;
Whereas the 2009 ``Report to Congress of the US-China
Economic and Security Review Commission'' stated that ``a
significant and increasing body of circumstantial and
forensic evidence strongly indicates the involvement of
Chinese state and state-supported entities'' in malicious
computer activities against the United States;
Whereas approximately 338,000,000 Internet users in China
represent the largest population of Internet users worldwide,
and the Government of China employs a sophisticated, multi-
layered, and wide-ranging apparatus to curtail Internet
freedom, as detailed in the 2009 ``Freedom on the Net''
report by the Freedom House organization;
Whereas Article 35 of the constitution of the People's
Republic of China guarantees freedom of speech, assembly,
association, and publication;
Whereas authorities in China employ legal and economic
means to coerce Internet service providers, web hosting
firms, and mobile phone companies to delete and censor online
content and discussions created by Chinese users;
Whereas the Government of China requires domestic Chinese
and foreign companies with subsidiaries in China, including
Google, to adjust their business practices to allow increased
filtering and supervision by the Government of China,
restricting content allowed by technology-based products, and
censoring data available on search engines;
Whereas, in 2003, the Government of China implemented the
Golden Shield Project to control access and information on
the Internet on grounds of public safety, including through
protocol address blocking, domain name system filtering and
redirection, uniform resource locator filtering, packet
filtering, connection resets, and other online methods that
could amount to censorship of high-value speech;
Whereas the Government of China frequently blocks United
States international broadcasting by Radio Free Asia (RFA)
and Voice of America (VOA), despite the unimpeded broadcast
in the United States of state-run media outlets in China,
China Central Television, and China Radio International;
Whereas, as of December 1, 2009, China had imprisoned 24
traditional and online journalists, accounting for nearly 20
percent of all imprisoned journalists worldwide at that time,
according to the annual prison census of the Committee to
Protect Journalists;
Whereas, following riots in the Xinjiang region of China in
July 2009, more than 50 Uighur-language Internet forums were
closed and communications were cut in Urumqi, China, and
foreign journalists visiting the area were closely monitored
by the authorities;
Whereas, during the Summer 2008 Olympics in Beijing, limits
were placed on freedom of expression and media coverage,
contrary to
[[Page S448]]
previous commitments made by the Government of China to the
International Olympic Committee;
Whereas ill-defined charges such as ``subversion of the
government'' and ``disseminating rumors'' serve as the legal
basis to sentence journalists, bloggers, and others who
express or disseminate views critical of the Government of
China; and
Whereas, on January 21, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton pledged enhanced United States support for Internet
freedom, saying, ``We stand for a single internet where all
of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas . . .
countries that restrict free access to information or violate
the basic rights of internet users risk walling themselves
off from the progress of the next century.'': Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of expression and
press freedom as cornerstones of United States foreign policy
and United States efforts to promote individual rights;
(2) expresses serious concern over ongoing official efforts
in many countries to restrict speech and expression,
including attempts to censor, restrict, and monitor access to
the Internet;
(3) welcomes the diplomatic initiative announced by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on January 21, 2010, to
encourage Internet freedom globally by ``supporting the
development of new tools that enable citizens to exercise
their rights of free expression by circumventing politically
motivated censorship . . . with a focus on implementing these
programs as efficiently and effectively as possible'';
(4) condemns the far-reaching cyber attacks allegedly
launched from China against Google, at least 34 other
companies, and numerous individuals discovered in December
2009;
(5) calls on the Government of China to conduct a thorough
review of these cyber intrusions, and to make the
investigation and its results transparent;
(6) pays tribute to the professional and citizen
journalists who persevere in their dedication to report in
China;
(7) urges companies to engage in responsible business
practices in the face of efforts by foreign governments to
restrict the free flow of information by refusing to aid in
the curtailment of free expression; and
(8) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
develop means by which the United States Government can more
rapidly identify, publicize, and respond to threats against
freedom of press and freedom of expression around the world,
including through support of new and existing censorship
circumvention technology.
____________________