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Google Suggest Disabled In China Due To Porn

Posted by kdawson on from the selective-harassment dept.

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Chinese government has asked Google to disable Google Suggest because it has been suggesting that people search for pornography based on its analysis of the most popular search terms in China. This comes on the heels of a fake CCTV interview being used to support the government requirement that all new computers ship with the 'Green Dam' Internet censoring program, which is still in force, despite reports to the contrary." The story on the chinaSMACK site demonstrates that Chinese search engine Baidu features a comparable search-suggestion function, which similarly recommends adult-themed sites, but that the government has not attacked Baidu over the issue of porn.

10 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Why Is Chinese Censorship News On Slashdot??!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's face it, the Chinese government censors and blocks whatever they feel like, the Chinese people know and accept it.
    So why does slashdot post these stories anytime XXX blocks/censors anything in China? Let's face it, it's not news anymore. It doesn't affect my rights online or anybody else's outside China.

    1. Re:Why Is Chinese Censorship News On Slashdot??!! by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...Its Google, its an American company. They can do the same thing over here. When you think about it and the recent "block everything" mentality from both democrats and republicans, soon China's internet might just be your internet.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:Why Is Chinese Censorship News On Slashdot??!! by tchdab1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes we have the rule of law.
      We have due process, yet we know of people held by our government for years without trial.
      We have the Geneva conventions, yet we know people have been recently tortured by our government.
      We have the right against unlawful search, yet we know the government has been listening on our domestic correspondence without permission from the courts.
      We have the right against unlawful seizure, yet the government regularly seizes items (such as cash and property) it considers unlawful and without process.
      Congress alone can declare war, yet we have armies engaged without war being declared.

      What's one more stupid internet filter in light of all this?
      If you don't act to maintain your rule of law, you will lose it.

    3. Re:Why Is Chinese Censorship News On Slashdot??!! by Mr2001 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Due process only applies to citizens.

      False. The 14th Amendment reads, in part, "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". Any person, not any citizen; the writers knew the difference.

      --
      Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
  2. Protectionism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    China is just doing this to give its own search engines a competitive edge. It does this with the film industry by only allowing 10 foreign films to be shown in China per year.

    1. Re:Protectionism by hackingbear · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's generally correct. And we can't do anything about it because China is our largest bank that gives us the biggest credit lines. They are now too big to fail as well. Before they became our Big Bank; they were our biggest allied fighting the Soviets in the 70s and 80s, and so the US had to give in to their demand as well. That's called deals.

      For companies like Google, the easiest solution is just to buy up some right officials (via hidden means,) then everything will be fine. China has their weak spot too. In China, you can accomplish anything big by bribing some officials; illegal but doable. In the US, you can accomplish anything big by contributing to the campaign of some politicians, legal and doable.

    2. Re:Protectionism by ScrewMaster · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the process of replacing the USA, china will go thru all the same step.

      All you America-bashers out there should listen to this particular A.C. Ask yourself this question: will the world be a better place when America is dead and gone and the Chinese government is running the show?

      I know a lot of you hate us, but be very, very careful what you wish for. Not that it matters: all empires, whether they be military or strictly economic (like ours) eventually disappear. If you're such an empire, if you're lucky you just fade away ... if you're not, your successor destroys you or occupies you. Whatever, I'm just annoyed that it's likely to happen in my lifetime. I was kinda hoping that I'd be dead and gone before we go the way of the Dodo bird, but due to the three most basic human emotions exhibited by our government and corporate leaders (e.g., greed, greed, and, well, greed, with a healthy helping of shortsightedness, treason and general stupidity) the process is happening far more quickly than I'd prefer.

      Do I blame China for what's happening to us? Nope. I blame us, because we're too goddamned STUPID to protect what our ancestors built for us, to protect our own interestes. We set up a free candy store, and the Chinese (and everyone else who wanted a free kickstart into the 21st century) just came in and took whatever they wanted, and when that wasn't enough, we gave them everything else. Now, most of us don't actually like that very much, but since we've elected an entire generation of fools and sellouts, we're kinda screwed now. Our Native American friends made much the same mistake. Huh, I guess history does repeat itself after all.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  3. New name suggestion? by 427_ci_505 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google Suggestive.

  4. Re:Filtering is the Hijab of the Internet by Celeste+R · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And from their point of view, pornography is the symptom of undisciplined actions, as well as overextending the activities of people in ways that are ultimately futile.

    Both oversimplified points of view are the result of popularized culture.

    The day when people in general get embrace moderation (the old definition; the kind that keeps things from becoming a controlling factor) and education (not institutionalized, but the uninhibited growth of the mind) will be the day when you see civilization truly start to flourish.

    Our own propagandized signposts of civilization or authoritarianism often serve to cover up the ugly truth.

    --
    There are no perfect answers, only the right questions. More questions at http://foresightandhindsight.blogspot.com/
  5. Re:Filtering is the Hijab of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Dual-mindedness is a very human trait. Why do we lie when we know the truth? Why do we cover up what is shameful to us? Human psychology is funny like that.

    Is it funny? It seems pretty straight-forward, to me. Self-control is necessary for a functioning society. Exerting self-control is far more difficult when tempted. Thus, some people may seek to ban temptations to help themselves (and, secondarily, their societies) maintain self-control. Attempts to ban "pornography" are one example of this.

    Societies more accepting of pornography could, indeed, be considered "more intelligent," if the reason they're more accepting is that they have more self-control (a triumph of intelligence over instinct).