Access to the internet is key to development, businesses should take responsibility for protecting users' privacy and promote an open web

In a world increasingly interconnected by the internet and technology, governments are progressively upping their efforts to control information, including its source and message.

China's great firewall and censors control the flow of information to more than a billion people. During the height of protests against President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt unplugged itself from the internet completely. Syria experienced its own "unexplained" internet blackout coinciding with rising protests, and the US sought to censor the Wikileaks cable releases.

But governments can't engage in monitoring, surveillance and censorship on their own. Western corporations are often complicit in these nefarious activities through the services and goods they provide.

Efforts are under way to address this challenge. For instance, the Ranking Digital Rights initiative is rating information and communications technology (ICT) companies on how well they protect users' privacy, as well as their commitment to an uncensored and open internet as a medium for free expression.

Another group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is grading companies on how they disclose requests for data. In the US, there is currently no legal requirement for companies to disclose when a government asks for the data they collect about users and customers. EFF's "who has your back" campaign asks companies "to be transparent about who's asking for their information and what they're doing about it". As EFF so aptly puts it, "surveillance is a growth industry: every existing report shows that the number of government requests for user data is rising." Google and DropBox are already disclosing this information, and recently Microsoft joined them. That's the good news.

But the battle's not over, especially when undemocratic regimes are involved. In 2004, Chinese journalist Shi Tao sent an anonymous email through Yahoo to a US-based group that detailed the censorship orders the government issued regarding the upcoming anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. He was promptly arrested and charged with leaking "state secrets". His court verdict stated that the evidence had been provided by Yahoo. Shi Tao is still in prison today.

In another example, a complaint filed by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), alleged that the French company Amesys had been supplying communications monitoring software and surveillance equipment to Muammar Gaddafi's regime during Libya's civil war. According to the complaint, the equipment allegedly allowed the Libyan information services to use the equipment in ways that led to arrest and torture of Libyan civilians. Accusations Amesys has denied.

Whatever the outcome of the complaint, keeping these technologies out of the hands of dictators and repressive regimes should be a policy priority of the global community. The US Congress has sought to address this challenge by introducing, on 4 February 2013, the Global Online Freedom Act (GOFA). If passed, GOFA would require the state department to assess which countries maintain a free and open internet and to publish an annual list of those that exhibit a systematic pattern of internet restrictions. Companies listed on the US stock exchange would be obliged to file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose their policies regarding data and information requests by governments, as well as their human rights due diligence policies. And GOFA would require the maintenance of a list of technologies that could assist repressive regimes with censorship and surveillance and then prevent their export to those "internet-restricting" countries.

Part of our collective role as responsible consumers, investors and businesses is to promote democracy and the development of vibrant societies where open exchange of ideas and information is the hallmark. A free internet is crucial to this development. Companies should not actively or inadvertently be assisting any governments in threatening these principles, and transparency is the best way to ensure they don't.

Amol Mehra is the director and Mike Lally is programme assistant at the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, a coalition of leading human rights, development, environmental and labour organisations working to ensure that businesses are held accountable for human rights violations wherever they operate.

This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox