By now a lot of people probably have heard that Google has made the decision to pull out its search operations from China. Now searches from China will be redirected to the Hong Kong version of the site, which is uncensored. Some people see this as a retreat, a surrender or a forfeit on part of Google. The question is, should Google fight Chinese censorship?
This surely had to be a tough decision for Google considering the site was recently hacked by Chinese citizens using Internet Explorer. Google believes that the attackers probably had some connection to the Chinese government – whether it was sanctioned, funded, or even carried out by the government remains to be a mystery.
Although it may seem to be a bit wimpy on Google’s part, they are not the first, nor probably the last major internet company to concede in one way or another to Chinese censorship. Facebook recently stated that it was not yet large enough to take on Chinese censorship, yet Facebook is one of the largest, if not the largest site on the net. Google probably doesn’t want to be the first company to take on the Chinese government’s policies full force, because they will probably be hit hard by it.
Google is still a company, and a company needs to make money. If Google takes a risk by fighting censorship in China they could loose out big. If Google stayed in China and fought the government they could be expelled and have their services blocked completely. If they fight the government from Hong Kong the Chinese government could still censor all Google services from ordinary Chinese citizens. With China being the world’s most populous nation, that could spell big losses for Google.
Another question to consider is whether or not it is the responsibility of Google to take on Chinese censorship. On one hand, it directly affects them, on the other hand, they are not a government or peace keeping organization. How seriously will the semi-communist government of China take a multi-billion dollar company fighting for an issue that directly affects their profits and well being? Why can’t it be the US Government or a human rights group taking on the challenge?
The bottom line is whatever strategy Google takes their is bound to be both pros and cons, and their actions could affect the future of freedom of internet and freedom of speech in China.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
by Mike McKeown