Proposes a code of conduct for companies working in repressive countries.
Proposes a code of conduct for companies working in repressive countries.
Search engines should pledge not to help governments conduct censorship, the European parliament said.
The parliament has passed a resolution that condemns several governments as 'enemies of freedom of expression online', including China, Iran and North Korea.
It also names and shames Yahoo, Google and Microsoft as helping the Chinese government to censor its political opponents.
According to the resolution, the European commission should draw up a code of conduct that would limit what companies operating in repressive countries are able to do, with regards to the internet.
The document also calls for cuts in aid budgets to countries in which don't allow their citizens unrestricted access to the internet.
The resolution is not legally binding, but it does call upon the parliament's president, Josep Borrell, to present its recommendations to the European commission and to governments around the continent.