American Tech Companies in China: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

: A US senator convinced US technology firms to agree on an internet freedom code of conduct. But companies like Google, Yahoo! And Microsoft have not made great strides in China while Chinese internet firms flourish. The number of internet users in China now exceeds the US total. “If they left China, these American technology companies would have fewer market entry headaches, but the potential of China's future has them in rapture,” explains an opinion essay for China Tech News. The essay wryly notes that a similar code of conduct does not apply to US operations and that the US Senate approved a bill that grants immunity to US telecommunications firms for monitoring phone records for the US National Security Agency. Internet users, whether in China or the US, have come to expect less than complete privacy. – YaleGlobal