I may just forgive you adorable geeks. Remember, you do have power, even in the face of the ever burgeoning world power of Red China, and still have resources left to take on the iPhone.
I have a lot of respect for Google's corporate ethics. I have always found its policy towards China to be a contradiction of its general commitments to freedom of information. I am ecstatic that Google is trying to bring its China policy in line with its principles. Hooray for google.
I am currently working on a thesis on how the Internet affects and improves governance in China. This is the largest and best step by any non-Chinese actor taken so far.
Hopefully U.S. domestic support for this move is strong enough to push other corporations to follow suit (I am looking at you Microsoft).
It doesn't look good. Just look what Microsoft did late last year: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/boycott-microsoft-bing/?scp=1&sq=bing%20censor&st=cse
Thank you Google for walking the walk with...do no evil. You have renewed my faith in Google and the outlook for your company.
Freedom of speech and the sharing of God given creativity and ideas are inalienable rights. Helping suppress and take away or threaten those rights is clearly evil.
I'd suggest further that it would be very good to see Google or another party develop a knoppix like CD-Rom that could not be infected by Malware. This CD might allow a non-technical user to securely and anonymously attach to a server in the cloud and share ideas without the ability to be tracked, browse, etc. The ultimate thin client or net client that could be used by students and dissidents alike.
What? Google is surprised? They have been sucking communist party dxck for how long?? At some point they were always going to blow their load on your face google, and you fell for it.
This is a welcome development. However, a few questions persist: When will Google stop censoring in other countries? Will it take a cyber attack by the government of a country for Google to stop censoring in that country? What about not censoring because it's the right thing to do? Because that is what freedom of speech is all about?
Excellent choice. The original choice to respect the culture of a country is a difficult one, but credible if the country is honest and forthright. China apparently believes that any means to an end is justifiable including lying and stealing.
Google should be congratulated on their original decision to respect the culture of a country and congratulated again on changing the rules in the face of dishonesty and criminal behavior. I support your decisions.
If I run a Google Search for [china news] the first page of search results returns four sites McAfee says are unsafe yet there is no similar indication from Google.
GO GOOGLE! Glad to see you're standing up for values and freedom. China is huge, opportunity there is huge, but at what cost. Whether you love or hate Google, EVERYONE SHOULD SUPPORT YOU HERE !!! Buy Google Stock Shake the hand of a Google Employee Write something good about Google Use Google search as much as you can and click on links Buy something from Google
I overwhelmingly agree with Google’s stance regarding their policy of freedom of information, privacy of its users and a commitment to its company’s values without regard to borders. Bravo Google, I support your move.
good to see google doing the right thing. maybe that "don't be evil" bit actually means something. it certainly is interesting that google would give up on one of the biggest and fastest-growing marketplaces for search on principle. i thought American corporations didn't care about principle...
@AS : There is an order of magnitude difference between mild censoring and the great firewall of China, at least from my perspective, let me know if you disagree. It's a matter of how much Google can put up with governments VS how much money they'd get.
For that particular issue, it s not just about censoring but also about personal attacks to Human Rights activists.
I dont see Microsoft doing the same thing, they are far more 'pragmatic' and would do anything the govts request to gain a few more $. Which might be why they mentioned that they didnt get such attacks on their services.
Thank you, Google, for making an honorable decision.
I understand why you were willing to filter chinese search rights in 2006, when you started offering searches. I think you were correct to understand the world not as a place full of black and white moralities, but as full of complex decisions. You weighed your options, and decided that it would be in the best options of both your company and the people of China to filter results.
I think you are also correct in your new course of action. Active, thoughtful, nationalistic attacks coming from China should not be tolerated.
China needs to know that their actions have consequences, and that their actions will not go unnoticed. I heartily applaud your decisions. Thank you, Google.
I applaud Google for standing up to the Communist government of China, who over the past several decades have killed millions of Chinese and keep much of the public in the dark about very important world issues today. WAY-TO-GO! However, I find it INCREDIBLY ironic that Google refuses to say "Merry Christmas" on their search engine front page, even just on Christmas day. Every other obscure and well-known person and holiday gets a mention. Sensorship double standard? No "Merry Christmas" for anybody? That's in-your-face sensorshp that is truly not welcome by many in the west. Google, please look within on this issue.
Yay Google! Glad to see Larry and Sergey are sticking to their principles - it really makes me proud to be a google user (and a human being) Thank you guys!
Yay Google! Glad to see Larry and Sergey are sticking to their principles - it really makes me proud to be a google user (and a human being) Thank you guys!
actually leaving is biggest failure.Only stay got chance to fight with chinese govn to the end.Lots lots of chinese people who back up google spirit need you.stay.if even you leave,how could they....
I want to congratulate Google on their choice to push back at the abuse of the Internet by the Chinese government. You have restored at least part of the high esteem that I lost when you chose to allow censorship several years back. In the long run, if you stick to your guns, I believe you will find that doing the right thing pays.
If google is on the moral high ground over china, it might be a good time to review how you record the china/india international boundary on google maps. At the moment it is marked with a dotted line(a state boundary) Leaving it ambiguous as to whether the indian states of arunachal pradesh and assam belong to china or india. Whilst china does have its eye on territorial expansion in this area it does google no good to be seen to support this. The 2 states i mentioned remain entirely indian and your map should show this without ambiguity.
Is the rumor saying that Google has been hacked not from outside web but from the inside employer true? I wonder if the very last paragraph indicating the decision is made solely by directors in US is intended to protect other employers in China who reveal or discover the existence of hacker. Will this page give any feedback about the rumor (or uncovered truth)?
Any attempt to undermine Civil Rights by any country , or regime should be abhorred. And, the decision of Google Inc, is upright.
In the Information Age, Information is power. And, China is disallowing that, by it's official mandates and other tactics. Thus , the Mesage goes , " China s no longer fit to partner the age of knowlege, Information society'.
I hope chinese govt openly agrees to your demands of providing unfiltered information and hope that google.cn is not shutdown. All the best.
ReplyDeleteI may just forgive you adorable geeks. Remember, you do have power, even in the face of the ever burgeoning world power of Red China, and still have resources left to take on the iPhone.
ReplyDeleteprops to google for standing up and taking action.
ReplyDeleteboo on China for being lame and shady
Props to Google for standing up against a government.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of respect for Google's corporate ethics. I have always found its policy towards China to be a contradiction of its general commitments to freedom of information. I am ecstatic that Google is trying to bring its China policy in line with its principles. Hooray for google.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Google for support of web based human rights in China!
ReplyDeleteWould that more companies took this type of approach.
I am currently working on a thesis on how the Internet affects and improves governance in China. This is the largest and best step by any non-Chinese actor taken so far.
ReplyDeleteHopefully U.S. domestic support for this move is strong enough to push other corporations to follow suit (I am looking at you Microsoft).
It doesn't look good. Just look what Microsoft did late last year:
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/boycott-microsoft-bing/?scp=1&sq=bing%20censor&st=cse
Google万岁.
God, this message is going to killing me!
ReplyDeleteThank you Google for walking the walk with...do no evil. You have renewed my faith in Google and the outlook for your company.
ReplyDeleteFreedom of speech and the sharing of God given creativity and ideas are inalienable rights. Helping suppress and take away or threaten those rights is clearly evil.
I'd suggest further that it would be very good to see Google or another party develop a knoppix like CD-Rom that could not be infected by Malware. This CD might allow a non-technical user to securely and anonymously attach to a server in the cloud and share ideas without the ability to be tracked, browse, etc. The ultimate thin client or net client that could be used by students and dissidents alike.
What? Google is surprised? They have been sucking communist party dxck for how long?? At some point they were always going to blow their load on your face google, and you fell for it.
ReplyDeleteWill Google take a similar stance in Australia when the government installs a similar filter to China later this year?
ReplyDeleteThis is a welcome development. However, a few questions persist: When will Google stop censoring in other countries? Will it take a cyber attack by the government of a country for Google to stop censoring in that country? What about not censoring because it's the right thing to do? Because that is what freedom of speech is all about?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Google, for finally realizing human freedom has higher value than any amount of money in the world.
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice. The original choice to respect the culture of a country is a difficult one, but credible if the country is honest and forthright. China apparently believes that any means to an end is justifiable including lying and stealing.
ReplyDeleteGoogle should be congratulated on their original decision to respect the culture of a country and congratulated again on changing the rules in the face of dishonesty and criminal behavior. I support your decisions.
If I run a Google Search for [china news] the first page of search results returns four sites McAfee says are unsafe yet there is no similar indication from Google.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.googcomments.blogspot.com
a brave and intelligent decision - congratulations!
ReplyDeletea brave and intelligent decision - congratulation!
ReplyDeleteGO GOOGLE! Glad to see you're standing up for values and freedom. China is huge, opportunity there is huge, but at what cost. Whether you love or hate Google, EVERYONE SHOULD SUPPORT YOU HERE !!!
ReplyDeleteBuy Google Stock
Shake the hand of a Google Employee
Write something good about Google
Use Google search as much as you can and click on links
Buy something from Google
AND BOYCOTT CHINA !
I overwhelmingly agree with Google’s stance regarding their policy of freedom of information, privacy of its users and a commitment to its company’s values without regard to borders. Bravo Google, I support your move.
ReplyDeletegood to see google doing the right thing. maybe that "don't be evil" bit actually means something. it certainly is interesting that google would give up on one of the biggest and fastest-growing marketplaces for search on principle. i thought American corporations didn't care about principle...
ReplyDeleteGood for you. You've earned more of my respect as a customer by making this decision.
ReplyDelete@AS : There is an order of magnitude difference between mild censoring and the great firewall of China, at least from my perspective, let me know if you disagree. It's a matter of how much Google can put up with governments VS how much money they'd get.
ReplyDeleteFor that particular issue, it s not just about censoring but also about personal attacks to Human Rights activists.
I dont see Microsoft doing the same thing, they are far more 'pragmatic' and would do anything the govts request to gain a few more $. Which might be why they mentioned that they didnt get such attacks on their services.
Thank you, Google, for making an honorable decision.
ReplyDeleteI understand why you were willing to filter chinese search rights in 2006, when you started offering searches. I think you were correct to understand the world not as a place full of black and white moralities, but as full of complex decisions. You weighed your options, and decided that it would be in the best options of both your company and the people of China to filter results.
I think you are also correct in your new course of action. Active, thoughtful, nationalistic attacks coming from China should not be tolerated.
China needs to know that their actions have consequences, and that their actions will not go unnoticed. I heartily applaud your decisions. Thank you, Google.
Any loss in revenues from this move in China will probably be recuperated from the enhancement of the Google brand elsewhere. Kudos to Google.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Google!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Open Letter to Google re: Chinese Censorship.
I applaud Google for standing up to the Communist government of China, who over the past several decades have killed millions of Chinese and keep much of the public in the dark about very important world issues today. WAY-TO-GO! However, I find it INCREDIBLY ironic that Google refuses to say "Merry Christmas" on their search engine front page, even just on Christmas day. Every other obscure and well-known person and holiday gets a mention. Sensorship double standard? No "Merry Christmas" for anybody? That's in-your-face sensorshp that is truly not welcome by many in the west. Google, please look within on this issue.
ReplyDeleteYay Google! Glad to see Larry and Sergey are sticking to their principles - it really makes me proud to be a google user (and a human being)
ReplyDeleteThank you guys!
Yay Google! Glad to see Larry and Sergey are sticking to their principles - it really makes me proud to be a google user (and a human being)
ReplyDeleteThank you guys!
actually leaving is biggest failure.Only stay got chance to fight with chinese govn to the end.Lots lots of chinese people who back up google spirit need you.stay.if even you leave,how could they....
ReplyDeleteI want to congratulate Google on their choice to push back at the abuse of the Internet by the Chinese government. You have restored at least part of the high esteem that I lost when you chose to allow censorship several years back. In the long run, if you stick to your guns, I believe you will find that doing the right thing pays.
ReplyDeleteIf google is on the moral high ground over china, it might be a good time to review how you record the china/india international boundary on google maps.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it is marked with a dotted line(a state boundary) Leaving it ambiguous as to whether the indian states of arunachal pradesh and assam belong to china or india. Whilst china does have its eye on territorial expansion in this area it does google no good to be seen to support this. The 2 states i mentioned remain entirely indian and your map should show this without ambiguity.
Is the rumor saying that Google has been hacked not from outside web but from the inside employer true? I wonder if the very last paragraph indicating the decision is made solely by directors in US is intended to protect other employers in China who reveal or discover the existence of hacker. Will this page give any feedback about the rumor (or uncovered truth)?
ReplyDeleteStand firm google. Fight the good fight!
ReplyDeleteAny attempt to undermine Civil Rights by any country , or regime should be abhorred. And, the decision of Google Inc, is upright.
ReplyDeleteIn the Information Age, Information is power. And, China is disallowing that, by it's official mandates and other tactics.
Thus , the Mesage goes , " China s no longer fit to partner the age of knowlege, Information society'.
Thank you Google. Thanks for standing strong and honest.
ReplyDelete