Thursday, March 02, 2006

News @ Cisco: Mark Chandler, Cisco SVP and General Counsel, Talks About Censorship in China

This is an issue that has been dogging Cisco for a while and it is one many people rightly have concerns about.

I think it is important to clear the air about several misconceptions about what it is Cisco does in China....

There are still allegations that you have altered your equipment for the purposes of censorship. Why do you think that is?

Mark Chandler: I think the allegations likely stem from a misunderstanding of thefunctionality of our equipment and, unfortunately, inaccurate claims made about Cisco's actions in China. Cisco has not and does not design products for the purpose of political censorship.

The equipment we sell in China is the same equipment we sell worldwide. We have not designed, marketed or altered equipment for the Chinese government. The filtering capabilities of all Internet routing equipment, necessary for protection against viruses, spam and denial of service attacks, can be used to block access to sites for political reasons, anywhere in the world.

What are your views with regards to political censorship?

Mark Chandler: Cisco strongly supports free expression on the Internet.


News @ Cisco: Mark Chandler, Cisco SVP and General Counsel, Talks About Censorship in China

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