By cooperating with the authorities we can improve people's lives. By giving them access to the Internet, this raises awareness in differences in government approaches, and increase forces for change. |
Our challenge is we have to work inside the laws of the countries we operate in. |
The lack of global legislation adds to the complexity of the situation. It's not realistic to have global legislation, but we do need international consistency. One example is 'child abuse' content, which has a different definition in the US than in the UK. |
There are some really good examples of where the industry has come together. The Internet Watch Foundation is funded by industry, and without legislation this approach has achieved fantastic things in the last five years. |
We feel horrible about the political arrests of Internet users in China, but we believe it's better to be there and cooperate with the authorities than not be there. |
We find users want freedom of expression, privacy, and ease of use. We have to balance that with the needs of governments looking for increasing access to data. |