Peter Burrows on hardware companies' role in Internet censorship

Peter Burrows addresses the hardware side of Internet censorship and surveillance in two pieces in Business Week this week: "Internet Censorship, Saudi Style" and a corresponding blog post, "Cisco Needs to Step Up to Reduce Net Censorship, Says Net Freedom Advocate." The article and blog post focus on the role of Cisco Systems and other hardware (and software) companies in providing the tools governments use to conduct the business of censorship.

The link between the companies and repressive censorship practices is admittedly tenuous. But as Burrows and Colin Maclay of the Berkman Center point out in the blog post, participation in the Global Network Initiative would be a step forward in promoting accountability in the hardware side of the Internet industry.