At the recent US State Department Global Internet Freedom conference, there was an interesting approach from the Big Three. Not the automakers, but Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. Addressing the issues of having to comply with orders from foreign governments such as China and Brazil…

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft representatives on Tuesday implored the U.S. government to help set ground rules for complying with demands by foreign law enforcement agencies for user records or censorship.

Specifically, Google’s Andrew McLaughlin:

…went so far as to suggest the government “fight for our interests in the trade arena the same way they’ve been fighting for our interests in Detroit. Censorship should be treated as a trade barrier and be written into free trade agreements.”

The complete article from CNET here.