In an effort to avoid legal reprecussions, both newspapers retracted their stories, issued apologies and paid stiff fines. However, other reports of Biwater's participation in the British government's aid for arms schemes have apparently gone unchallenged. For instance, the British House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee documented Biwater's role in the aid for arms scandal in Malaysia. And the British papers, The Observer and The Sunday Times , ran reports which documented Biwater's role in the scheme. Neither have been sued.
Water privatization is a crucial issue for public debate.
Furthermore, people should have the right to fully examine the record of any company seeking to control their water supply. As a global communications system, the Internet is an important vehicle for the public to gain access to information about the records of transnational corporations. The Internet is also a tool for organizing. Corporate Watch is committed to supporting the free flow of information over the Internet. In a climate of increasing free flow of capital, with correspondingly decreasing public mechanisms for corporate accountability, the Internet represents the potential of a public forum that transcends national borders.