From C/Net News

Half a year ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lauded Internet freedom and criticized China in a high-profile speech in Washington, D.C. A few weeks later, a Global Internet Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill was formed.

But the Chinese authorities weren't exactly paying attention. Since Clinton's speech, China has reaffirmed its commitment to state censorship, required online map providers to obtain licenses and host their images inside the country, blocked Foursquare, and announced new rules for media companies. Earlier this week, China made Google rethink how it could move some search operations to Hong Kong.

If anything, China's Internet restrictions have grown ever-tighter. In March, when Google began publishing a daily dashboard of China service availability, mobile and Web search was completely accessible. As of early July, both are partially blocked.

Some U.S. politicians responded this week by announcing legislation that would try to pressure China and other nations with Internet restrictions into becoming better Net-citizens by invoking two very old techniques: public shame and trade sanctions.

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