PJNet

Yesterday I blogged saying Shame on Google for giving in and included Rebecca MacKinnon’s reaction showing how institutionalizing censorship is dangerous for everyone.

Here is Google’s response to the flap.

And Bill Gates defending Google by saying, the Internet:

“is contributing to Chinese political engagement” as “access to the outside world is preventing more censorship”.

But the Timesonline.com article also says:

All three of largest internet companies – Google, Microsoft and Yahoo – have been fiercely criticised by human rights groups for toeing China’s line on restrictions of free speech.

This week, Google created controversy when it entered the Chinese market on Beijing’s terms. Writing on Times Online today, Irene Khan, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, said that Google had “reinforced the trend in the IT industry of kowtowing to Chinese demands of censorship”.

She said: “Last year, Yahoo provided the Chinese with details leading to the arrest and sentencing of a journalist; Microsoft has barred a blog critical of the government and launched a portal blocking the use of words such as ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. Now Google has weeded out websites that China does not like.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 28th, 2006 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.