Google Launches Censored China Version, May Appear Before U.S. Congress
Google Inc. launched a censored version of its search engine in China last Wednesday.
Google Inc. launched a censored version of its search engine in China last Wednesday, causing uproar in debate about freedom to access information. The U.S. Congress has invited the company and its chief competitor, Yahoo Inc., to answer questions next month.
The new Google addition, bearing the suffix “.cn,” censors search subjects such as human rights, democracy, religious persecution, the Dalai Lama, Taiwan independence, and the Tiananmen Square massacres. A search for the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, for example, leads instead to articles condemning the group posted on the Chinese government website, according to The Associated Press.
Searches for other sensitive subjects produce the same results. In most of these cases, only official Chinese government sites or those with a “.cn” suffix were included.
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Google’s decision to adhere to China’s censorship policies has caused controversy, with some protesting against the company’s decision.
"The decision by Google Inc. to acquiesce to Chinese government policy contradicts the freedom of information ideology that Google Inc. has embraced throughout the world since its inception," Joseph K. Grieboski, president of Institute on Religion and Public Policy, stated in the letter to Google’s chairman and CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt on Jan. 26. "With a censored Google website, only propaganda speaking against minority groups will circulate, expurgating any unbiased information from the Chinese public and further forcing underground faiths to smuggle information out of the country."
In addition, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which also reproached Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN.com for submitting to China’s censorship policies, voiced its opposition to Google’s block on information.
"When a search engine collaborates with the government like this, it makes it much easier for the Chinese government to control what is being said on the Internet," said Julien Pain, head of the group's Internet desk, to AP in a Jan. 25 article.
Google, whose motto is “Don’t Be Evil,” said that it aims to make its search engine more accessible in China and expand access to information, according to AP.
Chris Smith (R-N.J.) who has been a longtime advocate of civil rights in China, rebuked Google’s decision.
"It is astounding that Google, whose corporate philosophy is 'don't be evil,' would enable evil by cooperating with China's censorship policies just to make a buck," Smith said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle in an article published Friday. Smith chairs the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations that will hold a hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 15, inviting internet companies, including Google and Yahoo, to attend.
Prior to the censored “.cn” version, Google registered under a Chinese-language version of its company’s dot-com address in the United States. The dot-com site experienced frequent disruption as government filtering blocked access or created lengthy delays in response time, according to AP.
In an e-mailed statement to AP, Google’s senior policy counsel Andrew McLauglin defended the new site.
"In deciding how best to approach the Chinese — or any — market, we must balance our commitments to satisfy the interests of users, expand access to information, and respond to local conditions," he wrote.
"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission.”
On Google’s corporate blog Friday it posted "over time everyone in the world will come to enjoy full access to information."
Congress has invited Google and Yahoo to answer questions about censoring political materials that the Chinese government deems subversive, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The companies are asked to speak before members of Congress as part of a broader look at freedom of speech and the Internet in China. Neither of the companies has indicated what level of cooperation they will provide.
A briefing on Capitol Hill is scheduled on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in front of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. The companies are expected to be questioned on “measures they take to block sensitive information in China and the amount of pressure they are under to do so by the Chinese government,” according to the Chronicle.
"We don't know to what extent that they have been under pressure and what they have done to resist that pressure," said Lynne Weil, a spokeswoman for Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), who co-chairs the caucus.
Microsoft and Cisco Systems Inc. were also invited to Capitol Hill but both have declined to speak before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which has no formal legislative or subpoena power, Weil told the Chronicle. Google and Yahoo have not yet responded.
China has more than 100 million internet users – a number that is expected to grow rapidly.
