Search Engines and Censorship
I read a headline today that Google will retain its license to operate in China. It caused me to remember the various controversies over the years regarding search engines agreeing to censor their content in restrictive countries. Especially given the prevailing attitude of some Internet users that everything ought to be open and free, the outcry is understandable.
I had a thought. I won’t go so far as to say that any of the current players have this much of a conscience, but if one did here is a legitimate question. Does principle demand that you refuse to deal with the country, or does it actually demand that you go in? Here’s the rationale. The information accessible by searching a big site like Google or Yahoo is vast and complex. Varied also are the terms and links by which someone might stumble onto a site with information the controlling government doesn’t want them to have. Especially if one makes an effort, I suspect that getting around the sensors isn’t all that hard to do. It may be beyond the casual browser, but not someone determined to do it. So, granted that there is a monetary incentive, do you agree to the rules knowing that instead of cutting off the people completely you give them at least a chance of finding out what they need to know? Given what is apparently being done in our own country I doubt anyone is asking that question, but I think it’s a reasonable one.
