Via Middle East Times -
BEIJING -- US Internet giants Yahoo and MSN confirmed Friday they had signed a code of conduct for their blogging operations in China that committed them to protecting the interests of the Chinese state.
Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN, and other blog providers in China this week signed the "self-discipline" pact, under which they pledged to "safeguard state and public interests," according to a statement from the China Internet Society.
The pact "encourages" the Internet firms to register the real names, addresses, and other personal details of the bloggers, and then keep this information.
The firms also committed to delete any "illegal or bad messages," according to a copy of the pact posted on the society's Web site.
Along with sex and violence, China's communist rulers have also deemed that opinions critical of it or the spreading of democratic ideology are not allowed.
Yahoo China and MSN said they had signed the pact, but did not give any further comment.
"I can confirm that we signed the pact this week," Yahoo China's Beijing-based spokesman Dou Xiaohan said.
MSN China spokesman Feng Jinhu said: "We've signed the pact, but there is no press release on that. On your other questions, we will get back to you as soon as possible."
US Internet companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google have previously caused uproar abroad for bowing to the Chinese government's demands by agreeing to censor Web sites and content banned by the nation's propaganda chiefs.
They have repeatedly insisted that they have no choice but to follow local rules and regulations in China.
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Sounds like censorship via corporate collaboration to me....
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