I know that this has been talked about quite a bit. But I found this article that gives a much better explanation of what is going on between Google and China. I was under the impression that the Chinese government wanted Google to collect more information from users for some reason. But this is apparently not the case.
What happened is Google was available in China when they first started up, but it was censored and sometimes shut down by the Chinese government. China's communist leadership restricts Internet content and political speech, so Google had to agree to censor some of its Internet search results in order to do business in China. Because of this Google launched Google.cn. Google says Chinese hackers tapped into the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists and conducted a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure." China denies these claims, but the situation caused Google to promise to stop censoring its results in China unless some kind of new agreement could be arranged between Google and China.
So I'm a little confused about something. Did the Chinese government hack the gmail accounts? Either way I agree with Google's decision to stop censoring search results. Communism just completely blows my mind away. I know Americans think they are entitled to their rights, but I sometimes wonder if we realize how lucky we are to not have to deal with the shit that some people have to deal with in other countries.
Good question at the end. Only, watch the language.
ReplyDeleteThe argument has basically turned into one of principle. If Google pulls out now, it is a "victory" for China in its attempt to continue to restrict free speech. Google in China is more of a statement, really - not a business plan.
ReplyDeleteNice post John. I have also been confused by all of the articles about this topic. I also think it is a really good question if it was the Government that actually hacked the Gmail accounts. I supposed with China there is so much secrecy that we'll never really know.
ReplyDeleteThank You John! I was wondering what really happened with the whole Google/China thing. The only thing I got from it was that Google decided to pull out of China because someone hacked into Google's infrastructure. I didn't know that the information being shown in China was censored and they had their own way of finding things and getting results. I guess I am left wondering why wouldn't the Chinese government want to try and add some security and stipulations on the site seeing as Google is making a "special" search just for their country.
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