Google in China

Posted by on January 26, 2006 in general thoughts | 0 comments

Its not often I feel sorry for big companies, but I feel sorry for Google.

They have to implement filters on their search engines for any users in China, to meet the Chinese Governments censorship program for the internet.

Whilst most people would agree it is wrong to censor people’s access to information, what were Google supposed to do?

They are owned by share holders, who demand that their stocks grow, to ignore the largest emerging (and soon to be largest full stop) market is commercial suicide…

The free speech activists are crying out at Google for bowing to Chinese demands to filter certain sites and words, sure they could of taken a moral decision… but then what? Lose out to someone who didn’t?

I value people who to stick to their principles, but sometimes you have to do things against your moral judgement for some other purpose, to not do so is to not live in the real world.

Life would sure be easier if we all had an identical set of beliefs, but we don’t.

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