U.S. Sentator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is not so much a fan of China’s Baidu, the country’s largest search engine.

On a recent trip to China, Senator Durbin attempted to use the site and, upon trying to perform a search himself, was appalled to find out many words were censored. The Senator did what most of us Americans do when we’re not very happy with the goings on within our own borders – he wrote a letter.

Specifically, Senator Durbin wrote a letter to Baidu’s CEO Robin Li, citing the experience he had using Baidu on his recent trip to China and how he was disappointed at the censorship he experienced. He then asked Baidu to clearly state its human rights policies, as he felt the censorship was in violation of said rights. To end his statement of displeasure with Baidu, the Senator brought up another topic worthy of Internet discussion asking if Baidu had any plans to partner up with Facebook (News - Alert) and, if so, what policies would be put in place to protect the users?

Durbin also said he was concerned about the possibility that Baidu and Facebook will partner to launch a social networking site in China.

"As demonstrated by recent developments in the Arab World, social networking technology is particularly susceptible to exploitation by governments," he wrote. He asked Baidu what safeguards would be implemented to protect users if the search company and Facebook do go ahead and launch a social networking site in China.

The Chinese government requires search engines to self-censor user's search results. A Facebook lobbyist told the Wall Street Journal in April 2011 that Facebook may "block content in some countries" due to its concerns that "now we're allowing too much, maybe, free speech in countries that haven't experienced it before."

A report last week at All Things Digital (News - Alert) suggests the Chinese Facebook would connect with the global one in a way that might scare off users outside China.

Senator Durbin’s spokesman ,Max Gleischman, said the senator is “drafting an internet freedom bill” modeled on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, in which tech companies would be encouraged to adopt appropriate policies and practices to protect human rights would get safe harbor from liability.

“Companies that fail to adopt such policies could be held liable if their products or services are involved in serious human rights violation that was reasonably foreseeable,” he said.

Google (News - Alert) has been losing market share in China ever since its struggles with misgivings over censoring search results, finally moved the company’s Chinese search services to Hong Kong to avoid having to abide by Chinese law.

Being forced to face a similar dilemma could be even trickier for Baidu, which is listed in the U.S. but, unlike Google, earns the vast majority of its revenue from China.

Other major Chinese Internet companies listed in the U.S. include Web portal and operator of China’s most active Twitter-like microblogging service Sina, online video website Youku, and social-networking site Renren.