Microsoft 
made the right decision to stop helping Russian authorities use claims of software piracy to harass and silence dissenters. On Monday, it announced that it is barring its lawyers from taking part in such cases and will provide a blanket software license to advocacy groups and news media outlets in Russia, undercutting the Kremlin's tactic.
Still, Microsoft'swillingness to lend itself to politically motivated investigations - it changed course only after an article by Clifford Levy in The New York Times on Sunday - suggests a shocking failure of corporate responsibility. The Times said lawyers for Microsoft bolstered state police in politically tinged cases across Russia. After police seized a dozen computers from a Siberian environmental group, the group said all its software was legally licensed and asked Microsoft to confirm this. Microsoft would not. The police used information from the computers to track down and interrogate some of the group's supporters. Before changing policy on Monday, Microsoft executives said the company was required under Russian law to take part in such inquiries.
Unfortunately, Microsoftis not the only American company that has failed to stand up for the rights of its customers in undemocratic countries. In China, all search engines have helped the state control access to the Internet. In 2004, Yahoo helped Beijing's state police uncover the Internet identities of two Chinese journalists, who were then sentenced to 10 years in prison for disseminating pro-democracy writings online. The one company that has stood up to China is Google. In March, after five years of complicity with Beijing's censors, it began redirecting searches to its unfiltered engine in Hong Kong.
By contrast, Microsoft'sfounder and chairman, Bill Gates, defended the company's continued collaboration with China's censors. ''You've got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in, or not?'' he said during Beijing's fight with Google. ''If not, you may not end up doing business there.''
In 2008, Microsoftand Yahoo joined fellow businesses, human rights organizations and other groups in the Global Network Initiative and pledged to protect privacy and freedom of expression online. But declarations are cheap. They must put principle before profit and refuse to aid and abet repression. Microsoft can show that it now truly gets it by extending its offer of a blanket license to political and news media groups in China and other repressive countries around the world.
made the right decision to stop helping Russian authorities use claims of software piracy to harass and silence dissenters. On Monday, it announced that it is barring its lawyers from taking part in such cases and will provide a blanket software license to advocacy groups and news media outlets in Russia, undercutting the Kremlin's tactic. Still, Microsoft's
willingness to lend itself to politically motivated investigations - it changed course only after an article by Clifford Levy in The New York Times on Sunday - suggests a shocking failure of corporate responsibility. The Times said lawyers for Microsoft bolstered state police in politically tinged cases across Russia. After police seized a dozen computers from a Siberian environmental group, the group said all its software was legally licensed and asked Microsoft to confirm this. Microsoft would not. The police used information from the computers to track down and interrogate some of the group's supporters. Before changing policy on Monday, Microsoft executives said the company was required under Russian law to take part in such inquiries.Unfortunately, Microsoft
is not the only American company that has failed to stand up for the rights of its customers in undemocratic countries. In China, all search engines have helped the state control access to the Internet. In 2004, Yahoo helped Beijing's state police uncover the Internet identities of two Chinese journalists, who were then sentenced to 10 years in prison for disseminating pro-democracy writings online. The one company that has stood up to China is Google. In March, after five years of complicity with Beijing's censors, it began redirecting searches to its unfiltered engine in Hong Kong.By contrast, Microsoft's
founder and chairman, Bill Gates, defended the company's continued collaboration with China's censors. ''You've got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in, or not?'' he said during Beijing's fight with Google. ''If not, you may not end up doing business there.''In 2008, Microsoft
and Yahoo joined fellow businesses, human rights organizations and other groups in the Global Network Initiative and pledged to protect privacy and freedom of expression online. But declarations are cheap. They must put principle before profit and refuse to aid and abet repression. Microsoft can show that it now truly gets it by extending its offer of a blanket license to political and news media groups in China and other repressive countries around the world.