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Google's Action Makes A Mockery Of Its Values

Jason Jardine linked us to a well written piece discussing how Google has thus far promised to Do No Evil, but their recent decisions regarding censorship in china make a mockery of those values. We've been following this story all along, but I thought this article makes good food for thought.

7 of 742 comments (clear)

  1. Capitalism and Competetive Advantage by digitaldc · · Score: 2, Funny

    If it is your goal to make profits through a global Capitalist system, whether you do evil or not goes out the window?

    What would happen to Google if they suddenly decided to withdraw from China?
    I wonder if Microsoft and other companies would gain a significant competetive advantage just for being available to a large part of the world's population?

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  2. Evil is subjective by sargon666777 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Everyone should keep in mind that "evil" is a subjective open ended term. What is evil to one group is not evil to another.

    --
    Am I lying when I tell you that im telling the truth? Or am I telling the truth when I say that Im lying?
  3. different search criteria in China by SethJohnson · · Score: 2, Funny

    When the Chinese Google appeared, I went over there to see if my own website would appear or if it was censored. I did a search for 'Austin Skate Notes'. It showed up as the first result. But the second result is a link to a photo album deeply nested in my site that contains photos I shot at a George Bush Protest in Austin. I was kind of surprised because it's not linked to from other sites that I know of and I have other content on my site that talks about the new Shanghai skatepark and Chinese-made skate decks.

    When you search 'Austin Skate Notes' on the American Google, the Bush protest does not appear on the first page of results. It's interesting to me that the Chinese Google thinks visitors would be more interested in the protest photos than American Google users.

    Seth

  4. Re:Sheer Hypocrisy by DaveJay · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is there a company in USA that has some moral fibre left?

    Yes, cereal manufacturers.

    Oh, wait, that's just the fiber part.

  5. Re:It's the other way around... by cf18 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Passing such a full data disclosure law will force a lot of foreign companies to retreat, something China obviously can't afford to do.

    Now that Google is "inside", the Chinese government cannot simply ban or kick Google without considering the massive amount of bad press it would generate.

    And should that happen, and if Google is brave enough, they can challenge the government in China's high court. I would love to see a famous company challenge CCP's total disregard of China's constitution.

  6. Fundamentalism by Thing+1 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Amen brother! First we saw it in Afghanistan, but we stomped it out.

    Now we're seeing it in USA, and ...

    Hang on, there's a knock at the door.

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  7. Re:Sheer Hypocrisy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    At least in Cuba's case, it's Castro's fault. The United States has an embargo on Cuba, but the rest of the world doesn't. So don't blame us if they're dumb.