Amnesty International has accused three of the net's largest players, among others, of violating the Universal Declaration on Human Rights by cooperating with China's censors.

Microsoft, Google and Yahoo, and others, are colluding with China's efforts to censor the internet and are in denial over the human rights implications of their actions - and ignore their own stated commitments - Amnesty said, according to a Reuters report. The rights group said the three companies are in violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says everyone should be guaranteed freedom of expression.

"All three companies have, in one way or another, facilitated or concluded in the practice of censorship in China," Amnesty said in a report. "All three companies have demonstrated a disregard for their own internally driven and proclaimed policies. They have made promises…which they failed to uphold in the face of business opportunities and pressure from the Chinese government," it said.

Previous coverage:

- The Internet Revolution and China's New Gang of Four
- Internet Companies Face Grilling in House on China Policies
- Congressional Hearings Slam Tech Firms' China Hijinks
- Microsoft Revamps Blog Censorship Policy
- Google Censors Search for Spirits, Sex, Self-Rule and Cheer in China
- Microsoft Disappears Chinese Blogger's Blog
- Political Bloggers Jailed, Detained, Silenced
- Saudis Block Access to Google's Blogger.com
- China Again Shutters Sites that Won't Shut Up
- Anti-Censorship Handbook for Bloggers Published
- Yahoo Snitched on Now-Jailed Chinese Journalist
- 'Net Result of China's Expurgation: Dystopic Isolation
- MSN Spaces: No Room for 'Democracy' or 'Freedom' in China
- China Requires Blog Registration
- Google's Censorship in China Worked, Wins Favor
- China Closes Thousands of Internet Cafes