Google Opens it Search Engine to Chinese Users

 

Dictatorships have very little control over Internet and rely on cooperation with American companies like Google to censor sensitive material. Until recently Google has agreed to censor political material for user in China. Following malicious attacks on Google's servers, that Google believed were aimed at collecting information on human rights activist, Google officially opened its search engine to its Chinese users. Of course Chinese officials employed the use of a firewall. Tania Branigan describes China's current expectations of Internet services, “The move follows a clampdown on the Internet in China over the last year, which has seen sites and social networking services hosted overseas blocked – including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube – and the closure of many sites at home. Chinese authorities-criticized Google for supplying "vulgar" content in results”. American companies willingness to work with dictatorships can be detrimental to the spread of democracy in authoritarian regimes. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her concerns, "We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy" (Clinton). Many human rights organization responded positively to Google's decision “A transnational attack on privacy is chilling, and Google's response sets a great example,"(Ganesan ). Although Google position is admirable, their reasoning may not be motivated by human right as Ganesan belives. Google has recently came under fire for violating antitrust laws. Their decision may be an attempt to regain faith in the corporation. Google has used similar tactics earlier this year with the release of its open source web browser Google Chrome.more information about the Google antitrust lawsuit can be found here.