Google’s launch of a new, self-censored search engine in China is a "black
day" for freedom of expression, a leading international media watchdog says.
Reporters Without Borders joined others in asking how Google could stand up
for US users’ freedoms while controlling what Chinese users can search for.
Its
previous search engine for China’s fast-growing market was subject to government
blocks.
The new site – Google.cn – censors itself to satisfy Beijing.
The problem is that Chinese people are still human beings [who] still desire the
same freedoms as people in the West Denis Wong UK-based Chinese monitoring group
Min Quan Chinese results toe the line
Google argues it would be more damaging
to pull out of China altogether and says that in contrast to other search engines,
it will inform users when access is restricted on certain search terms.
It
is believed that sensitive topics are likely to include independence for Taiwan
and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, as well as human rights and democracy
in China generally.
The Chinese government keeps a tight rein on the internet
and what users can access through its so-called "Great Firewall".
The
BBC news site, for example, is inaccessible, while a search on Google.cn for the
banned Falun Gong spiritual movement directs users to a string of condemnatory
articles.
Google rivals such as Yahoo and Microsoft already use censorship
in China.
‘No surprise’
The company, whose motto is "Don’t
do evil", launched its new Chinese service less than a week after resisting
efforts by the US Department of Justice to make it disclose data on what people
were searching for.
Google has lost ground to Beijing-based web search
company Baidu
"Google’s statements about respecting online privacy
are the height of hypocrisy in view of its strategy in China," said Reporters
Without Borders(RWB) in a press release on Wednesday.
The result of censorship,
it argued, was that the internet in China was "becoming more and more isolated
from the outside world" and freedom of expression was shrinking.
According
to the Free Tibet Campaign, Google’s motto was "in smithereens".
"Through
its collusion, Google is endorsing censorship and repression," spokeswoman
Alison Reynolds said.
Human Rights Watch told the BBC that if all the search
engines acted together, they would be in a strong position to argue for free access.
No blogs
Google hopes its new address will make the search engine
easier to use and quicker.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Anyone with an ounce of
intelligence can access a blocked site when they know its location Hants Hawk,
Hants, United Kingdom
Send us your comments
Its e-mail, chat room
and blogging services will not be available because of concerns the government
could demand users’ personal information.
The company argues it can play
a more useful role in China by participating than by boycotting it, despite the
compromises involved.
The number of internet search users in China is predicted
to increase from about 100 million currently to 187 million in two years’ time.
A survey last August revealed Google was losing market share to Beijing-based
rival Baidu.com.
Last year, Yahoo was accused of supplying data to China
that was used as evidence to jail a Chinese journalist for 10 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4647398.stm
Posting
Date: 28/Jan/06
Original Article Date: 25/Jan/06
Category: Media Report
