III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 405 

Reaffirming the centrality of freedom of expression and press freedom as 

cornerstones of United States foreign policy and United States efforts 

to promote individual rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2010 

Mr. KAUFMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. CASEY, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

FEINGOLD, Mr. WEBB, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. MCCAIN, 

and Mr. CORNYN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the centrality of freedom of expression and press 

freedom as cornerstones of United States foreign policy 

and United States efforts to promote individual rights, 

and for other purposes. 

Whereas Google announced on January 12, 2010, the midDecember 2009 discovery that it had been victimized by 

a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack on its 

corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of its intellectual property; 

Whereas Google also announced it had evidence to suggest 

that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the 

Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, and 

that the evidence revealed separate attempts to penetrate 


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•SRES 405 ATS 

Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, journalists, and dissidents in the United States, Europe, and 

China; 

Whereas the targeting of Google is believed to be part of a 

larger effort to access the computer networks of at least 

34 companies, including major financial, defense, media, 

and technology firms and research institutions in the 

United States; 

Whereas this attack was one in a series of attempts to exploit 

security flaws and illegally access computer networks of 

individuals and institutions through the clandestine installation of phishing and malware technology; 

Whereas the 2009 ‘‘Report to Congress of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission’’ stated that ‘‘a 

significant and increasing body of circumstantial and forensic evidence strongly indicates the involvement of Chinese state and state-supported entities’’ in malicious computer activities against the United States; 

Whereas approximately 338,000,000 Internet users in China 

represent the largest population of Internet users worldwide, and the Government of China employs a sophisticated, multi-layered, and wide-ranging apparatus to curtail Internet freedom, as detailed in the 2009 ‘‘Freedom 

on the Net’’ report by the Freedom House organization; 

Whereas Article 35 of the constitution of the People’s Republic of China guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, association, and publication; 

Whereas authorities in China employ legal and economic 

means to coerce Internet service providers, web hosting 

firms, and mobile phone companies to delete and censor 

online content and discussions created by Chinese users; 


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Whereas the Government of China requires domestic Chinese 

and foreign companies with subsidiaries in China, including Google, to adjust their business practices to allow increased filtering and supervision by the Government of 

China, restricting content allowed by technology-based 

products, and censoring data available on search engines; 

Whereas, in 2003, the Government of China implemented the 

Golden Shield Project to control access and information 

on the Internet on grounds of public safety, including 

through protocol address blocking, domain name system 

filtering and redirection, uniform resource locator filtering, packet filtering, connection resets, and other online methods that could amount to censorship of highvalue speech; 

Whereas the Government of China frequently blocks United 

States international broadcasting by Radio Free Asia 

(RFA) and Voice of America (VOA), despite the 

unimpeded broadcast in the United States of state-run 

media outlets in China, China Central Television, and 

China Radio International; 

Whereas, as of December 1, 2009, China had imprisoned 24 

traditional and online journalists, accounting for nearly 

20 percent of all imprisoned journalists worldwide at that 

time, according to the annual prison census of the Committee to Protect Journalists; 

Whereas, following riots in the Xinjiang region of China in 

July 2009, more than 50 Uighur-language Internet forums were closed and communications were cut in 

Urumqi, China, and foreign journalists visiting the area 

were closely monitored by the authorities; 


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Whereas, during the Summer 2008 Olympics in Beijing, limits were placed on freedom of expression and media coverage, contrary to previous commitments made by the 

Government of China to the International Olympic Committee; 

Whereas ill-defined charges such as ‘‘subversion of the government’’ and ‘‘disseminating rumors’’ serve as the legal 

basis to sentence journalists, bloggers, and others who express or disseminate views critical of the Government of 

China; and 

Whereas, on January 21, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary 

Clinton pledged enhanced United States support for 

Internet freedom, saying, ‘‘We stand for a single internet 

where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and 

ideas. . . countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of internet users risk 

walling themselves off from the progress of the next century.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of ex3 pression and press freedom as cornerstones of 

4 United States foreign policy and United States ef5 forts to promote individual rights; 

6 (2) expresses serious concern over ongoing offi7 cial efforts in many countries to restrict speech and 

8 expression, including attempts to censor, restrict, 

9 and monitor access to the Internet; 

10 (3) welcomes the diplomatic initiative an11 nounced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 


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1 January 21, 2010, to encourage Internet freedom 

2 globally by ‘‘supporting the development of new tools 

3 that enable citizens to exercise their rights of free 

4 expression by circumventing politically motivated 

5 censorship. . .with a focus on implementing these 

6 programs as efficiently and effectively as possible’’; 

7 (4) condemns the far-reaching cyber attacks al8 legedly launched from China against Google, at least 

9 34 other companies, and numerous individuals dis10 covered in December 2009; 

11 (5) calls on the Government of China to con12 duct a thorough review of these cyber intrusions, 

13 and to make the investigation and its results trans14 parent; 

15 (6) pays tribute to the professional and citizen 

16 journalists who persevere in their dedication to re17 port in China; 

18 (7) urges companies to engage in responsible 

19 business practices in the face of efforts by foreign 

20 governments to restrict the free flow of information 

21 by refusing to aid in the curtailment of free expres22 sion; and 

23 (8) calls on the President and the Secretary of 

24 State to develop means by which the United States 

25 Government can more rapidly identify, publicize, and 


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1 respond to threats against freedom of press and 

2 freedom of expression around the world, including 

3 through support of new and existing censorship cir4 cumvention technology. 

Æ 


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