Google Responds to Criticism Over Censorship in China
Posted by Sean Fallon on January 28, 2006
Filed Under Misc. Gadgets | Stumble This
As many of you may have heard, Google recently decided to self-censor its search results in China at the request of their government. Naturally, this decision has opened the company up to a world of criticism.
Today, Google offered it’s official response on the matter via the Google Blog. Here is an exerpt:
“Obviously, the situation in China is far different than it is in those other countries; while China has made great strides in the past decades, it remains in many ways closed. We aren’t happy about what we had to do this week, and we hope that over time everyone in the world will come to enjoy full access to information. But how is that full access most likely to be achieved? We are convinced that the Internet, and its continued development through the efforts of companies like Google, will effectively contribute to openness and prosperity in the world. Our continued engagement with China is the best (perhaps only) way for Google to help bring the tremendous benefits of universal information access to all our users there.”
Strangely enough, Bill Gates - one of Google’s biggest adversaries, felt the same way about the issue, saying that the internet “is contributing to Chinese political engagement” as “access to the outside world is preventing more censorship”.
Let’s face it, China has over a billion consumers. Companies are going to do what it takes to do business there - so Google’s decision shouldn’t be that surprising. Besides, opening China up to the free world will undoubtedly have a positive effect in the long run, as both Google and Gates surmised.
Unfortunately, tputting a positive spin on the situation is difficult when you check out an example of the censorship first hand:
Click here to view Tianamen Square Google image search results in the U.S. and in China.
Other Google news today:
Major Update to Google Earth and Google Local
Watching NBA games on Google Video
Posted by Sean
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