Censor You, Censor Me

Alarmed by companies' willingness to bow to Chinese government wishes, a Republican congressman from New Jersey wants to make it illegal for Yahoo and Google to censor the results of Internet searches. But the law would only apply to searching for certain political or religious terms, presumably those favored by Rep. Chris Smith. By not extending the law to cover any searches -- e.g., for sex or gambling or other topics controversial in the U.S. -- Mr. Smith is merely proving the Chinese government's point: that Western countries also outlaw "harmful" and "illegal" information on the Internet and that Beijing's practices are "completely consistent with international practices."