Different views...

biko

http://images.google.cn/images?q=tiananmen
http://images.google.com/images?q=tiananmen

A Dub in Glasgo

Obviously relates to the decision of Google to censor thier .cn search engine. They have obviously done this to make more money and democrats all over the world should applaud this example of self-censorship.

constitutionus

jaysus, buts our lads to shame in the spin dept. maybe we'll see some PR companies recruiting in china

oscarBravo

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

Obviously relates to the decision of Google to censor thier .cn search engine. They have obviously done this to make more money and democrats all over the world should applaud this example of self-censorship.

Wouldn't life be so simple if everything was so clear-cut and black-and-white?

Google were faced with a choice: censor their Chinese search engine, or don't do business in China. Chinese law dictates that the government gets control over what people can see on the Internet; American law dictates that a company has a duty to maximise shareholder value.

Google's philosophy seems to be one of admirable pragmatism. The fact is that censorship doesn't work worth a damn on the Internet anyway, so by playing along with the Chinese government, they're allowing the people of China much more comprehensive access to the web - even with censorship - than they could otherwise hope to have.

And yes, they're making money in the process. How unspeakably evil of them.