Uproar over Google/Yahoo and China is hypocrisy

日本語は英語の後だ (Japanese version follows English)。

There has been a lot of uproar over how the large American Internet companies are self-censoring in China, and in at least one case, providing information to the Chinese Government on people the Chinese Government thinks are subversives. Here is a quote from an Asia Times (a Hong Kong based Internet newspaper) article on the subject - "In a nutshell, the companies have vowed to adhere to what Westerners generally regard as repressive Chinese laws on censorship as well as - at least in Yahoo's case - aiding Chinese authorities in what would clearly be considered unacceptable violations of the right to privacy in the United States."

Yet how is this really different that the Patriot Act, a US law set into place after September 11? The Patriot Act allows the Government to send National Security Letters - which are letters to banks, libraries, internet providers, and others requiring that they give information on their customers or clients.
See this Washington Post article for some information on National Security Letters.

Of course, I would prefer not to see Google and Yahoo self-censor their services in China, but I don't think the US Government has any right to say that they are doing wrong when the US Government itself is demanding private records from services like Google and Yahoo.

日本語：
最近新聞やニュース(たとえばAsia Timesというインターネット・ニュースペーパー）によるとアメリカのインターネットの会社は中国に検閲するそうだ。　そして中国政府が破壊活動に従事する使用者全員と考える情報を政府にあげる。

でもアメリカの愛国者法とどう違った？　愛国者法は２００１年９月１１日からアメリカの規律だ。愛国者法は銀行や図書館やインターネット接続にNational Security Lettersを遅れる。その手紙を受け取った会社はお客さんの情報をあげなければならない。　

もちろん、検閲するのはしたくない。　でもアメリカにそうしながら、アメリカは会社に言われたくない。