Would you boycott Google?

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article341035.ece
Google accused of selling out as it submits to Chinese censorship
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Published: 26 January 2006
The Independent

The leading internet company Google has become the latest technology company to founder against the Great Firewall of China with the news that it will censor its search engine to give it greater access to China's fast-growing market.

Human rights groups say the move by Google is the latest example of a big corporation kowtowing to the Chinese government's stringent demands on internet content. They say Google has sold out on its corporate mantra: "Don't be evil". Google.cn, the company's site aimed at boosting its market share in China, was launched yesterday but will censor itself of politically sensitive material.

The new version could restrict access to thousands of sensitive terms and web sites and make searching for information on topics such as Tibet, Taiwanese independence and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre even harder.

There are 111 million internet users in China and the number is rising swiftly. A growing market of that size is too big to ignore. A survey during the summer showed Google was losing market share to companies such as the Beijing-based Baidu, in which it has a small stake. Domestic giants including Sohu.com Inc. and Baidu.com Inc., along with China sites operated by Yahoo Inc and Microsoft, all routinely block searches on politically sensitive terms.

Google said that it planned to notify users when access had been restricted and argued that it could play a more useful role in China by participating than by boycotting it.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders described the launch as "a black day for freedom of expression in China". It said that US firms were bending to the same censorship rules as Chinese competitors.

"But they continue to justify themselves by saying their presence has a long-term benefit. Yet the internet in China is becoming more and more isolated from the outside world and freedom of expression there is shrinking," the group said.

The Free Tibet Campaign described the move as an endorsement of censorship and repression."With this move, Google's motto 'do no evil' is in smithereens," said the campaign's spokeswoman Alison Reynolds. "This also further contradicts those political leaders who attempt to convince us that foreign business can change China for the better."

The Free Tibet Campaign has already protested to Google about its service "Google Earth", in which the word Tibet is not recognised.

Google's move in China comes a week after it resisted efforts by the US Department of Justice to make it disclose data on what people were searching for.

"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission," the Mountain View, California-based company said in a statement.

Last year, Beijing recruited thousands of web watchdogs to watch over the capital's cybercafés and internet service providers. Around 40,000 officials routinely monitor e-mail and websites in the world's most populous nation.

Last year, Yahoo was accused of supplying data to China that was used as evidence to jail a Chinese journalist for 10 years.

The Communist Party's propaganda department has stepped up operations at Office 1106, an organisation which trawls cyberspace for subversion.

All websites, bloggers and bulletin-board operators must register with the government and the Beijing government has a special internet police force believed to be responsible for shutting down "unacceptable" sites, blocking foreign news sites and jailing people for online postings.

The leading internet company Google has become the latest technology company to founder against the Great Firewall of China with the news that it will censor its search engine to give it greater access to China's fast-growing market.

Human rights groups say the move by Google is the latest example of a big corporation kowtowing to the Chinese government's stringent demands on internet content. They say Google has sold out on its corporate mantra: "Don't be evil". Google.cn, the company's site aimed at boosting its market share in China, was launched yesterday but will censor itself of politically sensitive material.

The new version could restrict access to thousands of sensitive terms and web sites and make searching for information on topics such as Tibet, Taiwanese independence and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre even harder.

There are 111 million internet users in China and the number is rising swiftly. A growing market of that size is too big to ignore. A survey during the summer showed Google was losing market share to companies such as the Beijing-based Baidu, in which it has a small stake. Domestic giants including Sohu.com Inc. and Baidu.com Inc., along with China sites operated by Yahoo Inc and Microsoft, all routinely block searches on politically sensitive terms.

Google said that it planned to notify users when access had been restricted and argued that it could play a more useful role in China by participating than by boycotting it.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders described the launch as "a black day for freedom of expression in China". It said that US firms were bending to the same censorship rules as Chinese competitors.

"But they continue to justify themselves by saying their presence has a long-term benefit. Yet the internet in China is becoming more and more isolated from the outside world and freedom of expression there is shrinking," the group said.

The Free Tibet Campaign described the move as an endorsement of censorship and repression."With this move, Google's motto 'do no evil' is in smithereens," said the campaign's spokeswoman Alison Reynolds. "This also further contradicts those political leaders who attempt to convince us that foreign business can change China for the better."

The Free Tibet Campaign has already protested to Google about its service "Google Earth", in which the word Tibet is not recognised.

Google's move in China comes a week after it resisted efforts by the US Department of Justice to make it disclose data on what people were searching for.

"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission," the Mountain View, California-based company said in a statement.

Last year, Beijing recruited thousands of web watchdogs to watch over the capital's cybercafés and internet service providers. Around 40,000 officials routinely monitor e-mail and websites in the world's most populous nation.

Last year, Yahoo was accused of supplying data to China that was used as evidence to jail a Chinese journalist for 10 years.

The Communist Party's propaganda department has stepped up operations at Office 1106, an organisation which trawls cyberspace for subversion.

All websites, bloggers and bulletin-board operators must register with the government and the Beijing government has a special internet police force believed to be responsible for shutting down "unacceptable" sites, blocking foreign news sites and jailing people for online postings.

Google is the only search engine that hasn't released raw search data (terms only) to the US Government. They are currently in court over the issue. They get kudos for that.

Not to mention they come up with cool stuff....

Originally posted by Chakan
Not to mention they come up with cool stuff....

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Provided they keep the cool stuff coming, they need never fear a boycott. Besides, the Chinese will soon control the entire world's means of production! Let's all kill ourselves right now. Or prepare for the coming of Cthulhu, with whom the Chinese are evidently in league. Ever wondered why Chinese pop music is so terrible? Now you know... ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn...

Originally posted by dk3nny
Back to Arkham Asylum for you.. muuuhahaha.

Originally posted by dk3nny
Back to Arkham Asylum for you.. muuuhahaha.

Originally posted by Starrman
I'm not sure that's such a good idea, he may come out even more 'evil criminal mastermind' than he is already. Are you sure you want that on your conscience?

I think some infomation is better then none. Also I respect them for not giving the U.S. govenmant the infomation they wanted. I think they are a cool company with things like google earth and the text based ads are far better then pop ups.

The other search engines serve China already, and completely exclude censored items from search results.

Google will work differently in that the people will be able to see that they aren't allowed to look at (for example) the bbc website.

Boycott the other search engines until they bring themselves upto the level of service of Google.

If an encyclopedia removed all references to the Tiananmen Square protests from its pages, could you still call it an encyclopedia?

I couldn't boycott google, it's seemingly impossible. I use it about 5 times a day. I'm just disturbed at the twisted manipulation of that which I thought was good to serve the criminal suppression of freedom of speech in China. If you were in China you probably wouldn't be able to access RHP.

Originally posted by hopscotch
If you were in China you probably wouldn't be able to access RHP.

Google, Yahoo and other Western technology companies are falling all over themselves to gain access to the Chinese market and help keep the people oppressed there. It's wrong. Moreover, just because these American companies have gone global doesn't mean they should be allowed to give up their ethics. Indeed, we should all boycott these companies until they straighten up and fly right.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
Google, Yahoo and other Western technology companies are falling all over themselves to gain access to the Chinese market and help keep the people oppressed there. It's wrong. Moreover, just because these American companies have gone global doesn't mean they should be allowed to give up their ethics. Indeed, we should all boycott these companies until they straighten up and fly right.

Originally posted by hopscotch
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article341035.ece
[b]Google accused of selling out as it submits to Chinese censorship
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Published: 26 January 2006
The Independent

The leading internet company Google has become the latest technology company to founder against the Great Firewall of China with the news t ...[text shortened]... ng people for online postings.

[/b]