Jan
13
Google Stands Up For Free Speech, Ready to Pull Out of China
Is China going too far? Was the Chinese government behind, as Google puts it, “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack” that’s gotten Google ready to pull out of China? In mid-December Google and, apparently, about 20 other companies, were attacked. Google’s investigation discovered “that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties.”
A blog post from Google’s Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, declared that Google is “no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn.” Google doesn’t necessary dominate the internet search market in China (about 15% or so), but there is lots of potential for growth — especially since Google will soon dominate the world. And if they pull out, Baidu, China’s leading search engine, will surely saturate the market even more.
Although Google will attempt to work with the Chinese government on a censor-free possibility, I doubt it’s likely. I mean, I had a hard time with the internet limitations while I was vacationing in China (and nope, I didn’t look up one political site). Just trying to plan the next leg of our trip to Taiwan, I had extreme difficulty accessing tourist information sites. Oh and did you know it costs an American $130 for a single entry tourist visa to China while it costs a Canadian just $30? I’d say there’s some sort of agenda there…
What do SND readers think of Google’s decision? Do you support Google’s decision? Click comment and let us know!
There is much more information out there, in case you’d like to become a bit more informed… you know, before you comment and tell us what you think of it all. We like interaction.
Oh, and on a side note, looks like Baidu, the Chinese-run search engine, was recently hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army. First Twitter, now Baidu, who’s next? Who are these guys!?
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