Public revolt in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere makes it clear that many yearn for rights and liberties. But states are not the only institutions obligated to respect human rights. Companies also have human rights responsibilities and can be complicit in violating human rights. For example, during the first days of [...]

Mary Robinson, founder and president stated, “I welcome the collaborative approach that the Global Network Initiative is taking to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy. This new initiative provides a practical framework for business, human rights groups, the investment community, and academia to work together to advance fundamental human rights principles.” She [...]

In keeping with the company’s goal of advancing human rights around the world, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) today announced it is helping to promote the Every Human Has Rights Campaign, inspired by The Elders and [...]

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo and a group of human rights and public interest organizations plan to introduce Wednesday a global code of conduct that they say will better protect online free speech and privacy against government intrusion. The principles are the starting point for a new effort, called the Global Network Initiative, which commits the [...]

Just days before the Olympic torch will reach Beijing, Internet leaders Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they are close to an agreement on a code of conduct for doing business in China and other countries that censor the Internet.Sen. Dick Durbin on Monday released separate letters from the companies, stating they have “reached agreement on [...]

A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday is expected to question a Cisco Systems Inc. executive about an internal 2002 document that includes a reference to censoring “hostiles” in describing the Chinese government’s technology position and goals. Representatives from Cisco, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary’s human rights subcommittee, which [...]

Yahoo Inc., under fire from civil-rights groups for its indirect role in human rights abuses in China, is answering critics by setting up a fund to give victims of government censorship legal and other assistance. The webco has been charged with complicity in the jailing and torture of Chinese dissidents, and this week was criticized [...]

Yahoo Inc. has urged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to help secure the release of Chinese dissidents, including two who were jailed after the Web portal gave authorities information about their online activities. Jerry Yang, the Sunnyvale company’s chief executive, sent a letter to Rice Thursday in what is his latest effort to restore Yahoo’s [...]