For the most part I think of Google as a indisputably first-class company. I have trouble thinking of criticisms of the company …that is until this week. Google has every right to enter any agreements that it sees fit. I love the free market systems and would not be in favor of preventing a private business from entering into agreements with foreign countries. But this week’s announcement by Google that they will help the Chinese dictatorship censor web searches just seems wrong to me.
This isn’t the first time Google has censored for the government. Anyone who has used Google maps to search for a satellite photo of the White House has noticed the obvious photoshopping.
I assume the US government asked Google to do this…why else would the top of the White House be covered? Why Google would choose to participate in this, literal cover-up, is beyond me (unless forced by law to do so). Any terrorist or foreign country that wants this information can easily get the uncensored picture. If the government doesn’t want photos of the security on top of the White House, then they should camouflage the top of the building with netting or false walls, or some other visual illusion. It isn’t Google’s responsibility to hide easily obtainable information about the White House, the same should go with China.
The announcement of cooperation between Google and the Chinese communist government comes as even more of a surprise when contrasted with Google’s recent dispute over releasing search statistics to the US government. Let me get this straight…China wants to censor searches of words such as Democracy, Freedom, and Christianity…No Problem! The US government wants a random sample of a million searches (no personal information on the searchers would be given)…and Google wants to fight for the rights of its users.
Juxtaposing these two controversies within a week confuses the hell out of me. Why cooperate with China to censor but not cooperate with the US government in a court case about internet pornography? Please explain.
All of this leads me to a question I don’t often ask. How rich do you need to be? Google desires to enter a market with 1.5 billion people in order to make money. Is the bottom line always the sole determinant of a business decision? The answer to that question is obviously no, at least in Google’s case. They provide their employees with …free meals…laundry…company time for private projects. The founders of Google, and just about every employee at the company, are in the top 10% of income earners.
Participating in actions, such as censorship, is condoning it. Google should take the high road and let its competitors participate in the proactive elimination of information. Leave the censorship to communist dictators!
Update: Google changes its motto from
Do No Evil!
to
Don’t Be More Evil Than Necessary!
