Google vs. China – A victory for freedom and free enterprise

Updated Jan. 13, 2010 at 8:09 a.m.

Google vs. China – A victory for freedom and free enterprise

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"Google is a great soldier of freedom. You don't bend to the devils." – Note of support at China Web site

Note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of Local Tech Wire and business editor of WRAL.com.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Three cheers for Google.

Finally, FINALLY, some people in America’s supposedly freedom, free-enterprise-loving corporate suites are demonstrating some backbone in dealing with China.

After kowtowing to repressive Chinese government demands for censorship and records access that have endangered people’s lives for years – YEARS – Google decided to fight back Tuesday and threatened to pull its business OUT of China.

Why? Google says it discovered that hackers were tricking human rights activists into exposing their e-mail accounts to outsiders, the AP reported. Plus, Google says it discovered hacking attacks launched from within China that targeted numerous U.S. firms while also gathering information about activists who oppose the Chinese regime.

Here’s how The AP described the Google decision:

“The change of heart announced Tuesday heralds a major shift for the Internet's search leader, which has repeatedly said it will obey Chinese laws requiring some politically and socially sensitive issues to be blocked from search results available in other countries. The acquiescence had outraged free-speech advocates and even some shareholders, who argued Google's cooperation with China violated the company's ‘don't be evil’ motto.”

After agreeing to censorship demands since launching its Google China site in 2006, Google is saying enough.

Many people in China, who seem to long for free speech far more than many American corporate executives want to defend it, are cheering Google. Here’s a great item from AP:

"Google is a great soldier of freedom. You don't bend to the devils," said a note on the site Tianya.cn.

Devils, dragons, whatever. Evil is evil. Repression is repression.

Now, will executives at Yahoo!, Microsoft and other firms discover that they, too, have backbones and do the right thing by just saying “No” to China’s demands? Or will they, too, continue to kowtow to dollars (yuan) over what is right?

China doesn’t hold all the cards in this debate despite its massive wealth and ownership of U.S. government debt. Last year, the “Green Dam” software screening edict by the Communist government turned into a fiasco even though Morrisville-based Lenovo and other firms acceded to demands that the product be installed or made available on PC products sold there.

After international outrage – primarily from its own citizens and freedom-loving people worldwide, not the corporate suits – China backed down.

Now that Google is saying “No more,” perhaps other firms will too. Perhaps the stick, not carrot, approach will lead to some fractures in China’s great firewall of censorship and repression.

The Skinny has criticized companies before for their kowtowing.

So, here’s a well deserved tip of the hat to Google. The Internet was built on the basis of freedom of speech and open access of information to all. That includes China’s repressed masses.

Let freedom ring. Google has scored a victory for everyone who values principles over dollars, freedom over yuan and greenbacks, and most of all this:

The concept of right vs. wrong.

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Tags: Opinion Analysis, Google, China, Lenovo

The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…

WRAL Tech Wire