Hillary Clinton Internet Speech Blasts China, Others For Web Blocks

(Robert Burns, AP) WASHINGTON Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday urged China to investigate cyber intrusions that led Google to threaten to pull out of that country and challenged Beijing to openly publish its findings.

"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," she said, adding that the U.S. and China "have different views on this issue, and we intend to address those differences candidly and consistently."

She cited China as among a number of countries where there has been "a spike in threats to the free flow of information" over the past year. She also named Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Egypt and Vietnam.

Clinton made her remarks in a wide-ranging speech about Internet freedom and its place in U.S. foreign policy.

"Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from accessing portions of the world's networks," she said.

"They have expunged words, names and phrases from search engine results," Clinton said. "They have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in nonviolent political speech."