Countries that have restrictive Internet policies, like China, now require a voluntary code of conduct for business activities or that’s what U.S. technology giants decided to do. Therefore Microsoft, Google and Yahoo along with human rights groups are now working at a common behavior code for U.S. firms operating in countries that tend to restrict free speech in cyberspace.

Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement that “We must ensure that American companies operating in repressive regimes protect fundamental human rights."

For example, as far as China is concerned, the companies would still play by the country’s rules, but they would not go any further than those rules require.

Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google have been under fire in the past for complying with China's controversial Internet policies. Amnesty International criticized Microsoft and Google back in 2006 for agreeing to censor their search results within China so that forbidden topics would not be available to citizens. Yahoo on the other hand was criticized for revealing personal information on Chinese dissidents.

The code will be completed later this year.

"Censorship is still rampant, dissidents are still being arrested and held in detention and none of the companies have announced changes in their operating procedures or policies which would change either of those facts," Amy O'Meara, director of business and human rights for Amnesty International U.S.A. told the Los Angles Times.

 The problem of Internet access at the Beijing games occured last week, when the Chinese government blocked access to some international human rights websites. After cpomplaints, thematter was solved rapidly.