We all know of Google as the company that has been innovating the Internet for years. Their search tools are extraordinary and offer virtually limitless results. This is why it is so surprising to hear of Google censoring its search engine in China. Clive Thompson's article "Google's China Problem (and China's Google Problem)" presents a wonderful look at this situation though. As an American it is very hard to accept censorship of free speech. It is something that our democracy thrives on. China's Communist party does not enjoy the idea of citizens speaking out against those in power. As a result, many websites have become banned in China. Code and other types of routing techniques were put into place to accomplish this. A few years ago, Google became of these sites.
Google faced a very hard decision when it tried to adjust its site to China's laws. Option one was to accept the slow-downs that China had imposed on the site from censoring and loose market share. The other option was to put servers in China and accept copyright laws. The later is what Google choose to do.
At first we might think that Google betrayed its core values by giving into China's censoring. However, Google's thought process actually has some merit to it. By censoring its search results Google could provide fast search results and spread information even better. Really, this is what the internet is all about-The spreading of idea's and information as quickly as possible.
You might say that no matter what, China's citizens are still living in a censored world. This is very true, but the Chinese know this. Many are scared to go against their government. They want an internet where they know they won't have to worry about being put in jail.
I find the most interesting aspect of this article to be the idea that the internet has already changed Chinese society so much. Chinese bloggers can express most of their opinions freely. This freedom of thought is a starting point for better things to come. We may be upset with what China is doing with the internet, but at least the Chinese have a medium with which to connect and share ideas...
...and, in the end, ideas have more power than any government will ever possess.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I think Alex did a great job reflecting on the article. One thing I liked about his response was that he was optimistic yet realistic. He stated the facts and details about what had happened with China and Google, but he also pointed out some of the positive things too. For instance, I know I focused on a lot of the negative things in my response by stating how bad it was for Google to agree with China to restrict Web sites. However, after reading Alex's blog I have a new outlook. He said Google could provide fast search results and spread information even better, and that is what the internet is about. Also, he said the Chinese society has changed so much. Blogging is a freedom of thought. I liked when he said,there is a "medium with which to connect and share ideas..." This is true. Even though Web sites are restricted in China, there are also good things that are going on too. Blogging is very important where the Chinese can express themselves, and at least that is a start.
Post a Comment