Google is re-examining it's course in China on Google.cn after discovering cyber attacks had been made on Gmail accounts of known political dissenters. Google states that it's system was not breached, but that phishing scams or malware were used to attempt to hack email of 2 political activists. Other corporate sites in China were also attacked and it is clear that government operatives were involved. Google is sharing it's tracking data openly and publicly stating it's concerns moving forward.
The experiment with self-censorship in China has been tricky water for "open information" internet search giant Google. It will prove crucial for Google to take a clear & firm stance on such systematic invasions of privacy or it risks more censorship quicksand worldwide as political winds blow. It will bear watching how Beijing reacts to being rebuked by a corporate entity. With China's need to be at peace with global economic forces (perhaps more than political ones), we will see how the oil and water relationship between politics and personal rights in China resolves itself. More drama to come, I'm very sure ...
The experiment with self-censorship in China has been tricky water for "open information" internet search giant Google. It will prove crucial for Google to take a clear & firm stance on such systematic invasions of privacy or it risks more censorship quicksand worldwide as political winds blow. It will bear watching how Beijing reacts to being rebuked by a corporate entity. With China's need to be at peace with global economic forces (perhaps more than political ones), we will see how the oil and water relationship between politics and personal rights in China resolves itself. More drama to come, I'm very sure ...
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