There have been few internet stories in the past few months which have come close to achieving the attention of the Google Vs China debate. The issues over censorship and monitoring of the net have sparked debate again and again as people and businesses take to their blogs in an effort to justify or condemn on either side. It’s not an issue that’s going to be swept under the run any time soon. One aspect that continues to crop up is Google’s motivation in all of this. Are they on a mission to save the freedoms of the internet for everyone, or are there personal motives behind the smoke and mirrors.
Some articles posted have suggested that Google could be an evangelist for freedom of the internet. In recent years there has been notably less coverage of many companies appeasement of China’s laws on censorship such as information handed over by Yahoo and Cisco that led to the imprisonment of dissidents in China. Also, while Google has not so much encouraged the countries strict regime they have in previous years appeased the censorship by censoring their own engine in the country.
However the term ‘better late than never’ springs to mind and Google seem to have finally got behind their own maxim of ‘don’t be evil’ and are standing firm in de-censoring their results in the face of an immovable Chinese government. Despite this David/Goliath style encounter few companies are getting behind Google for a variety of reasons. Many businesses either covet or are at the mercy of the strength of the Chinese market, including in part the American government who have taken extensive loans from the country. As a result any support that comes Google’s way and the way of freedom of speech and democracy comes with one hand tied behind its back.
In a sense this could be part of an alternative reason for Google bailing out on China. While it is nicer to romanticise the steadfastness of Google, it’s worth remembering that Google censored its own results before in China and this about turn could have more to do with personal interests than a war on totalitarianism. In the Chinese market Google doesn’t hold the same sway as it does in the West with the market leading search engine being China’s own language ‘Baidu’. Recently Baidu have become even stronger with Google marginalising themselves by directing their traffic through their Hong Kong service. What a lot of this could boil down to is the common problem that western businesses have often struggled in recent years in the Chinese market. This bravado from Google could in part be a distraction from the real motivation for reducing their foothold in the west.
Either way it’s an ongoing debate, and few will argue with Google’s fight for freedom of speech. Only time will tell whether this is a fight Google are eager to follow through with, or simply an out for a company in a hostile marketplace.
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