Google lifts censorship of Chinese search engine

Google 'thinks out of box' on China: activists
Washington (AFP) March 22, 2010 - Human rights advocates on Monday hailed Google for ending censorship of its Chinese-language search engine, saying it had found an innovative way to safeguard freedom of expression. More than two months after threatening to bolt China, Google said it would maintain a presence in China and redirect users to an unfiltered Chinese-language search engine based in Hong Kong. Sharon Hom, executive director of New York-based Human Rights in China, said that Google was throwing the ball in the court of Beijing which promised to respect freedoms in Hong Kong when it regained the territory in 1997.

"Google is really thinking outside of the box," she told AFP. "They are technically staying in China but stopping censorship." "It should be a message to other companies that they can come up with other solutions other than the simplistic choice of staying in China and censoring or giving up and leaving," she said. Hom was hopeful that Chinese citizens could take advantage of the Hong Kong-based website, noting it allowed searches in simplified Chinese characters which are used in the mainland.

Leading Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, who spent nearly two decades in prison and now lives in the United States, said he supported Google's decision and was not surprised. "We knew all too well that the Chinese government would not back down, but we also knew that Google's motto was 'Do no evil.' So there was no point on which to compromise," Wei told AFP. "But our worry is that Internet companies may now face even more pressure from the Chinese government," he said. Google had first threatened to pull out of China after reporting cyberattacks on the company and against the email accounts of dissidents.

The Internet giant, which prides itself on open access, had earlier been in the awkward position of defending its operations in China as the only way it could bring limited access to the billion-plus nation. Media rights group Reporters Without Borders, which had been strongly critical of Google in the past, said the Silicon Valley giant had taken a bold step. "Google has taken a courageous position against censorship," said Lucie Morillon, the head of the Paris-based organization's new media desk. "Google is betting in the long-term future on a free Internet. It may be too early to tell, but we hope that the future proves them right," she said.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 22, 2010
Google announced Monday it has stopped censoring its Chinese-language search engine Google.cn and was redirecting mainland Chinese users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong.

Google's move, which risks angering the Chinese authorities, came a little more than two months after the Internet giant said it had been the victim of cyberattacks originating from China.

The Mountain View, California-based Google said it would no longer censor search results in China but intends to continue research and development work there and maintain a sales presence.

"Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard," Google chief legal officer David Drummond said in a blog post at googleblog.blogspot.com.

"Earlier today we stopped censoring our search services -- Google Search, Google News, and Google Images -- on Google.cn," he said.

"Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong."

Drummond expressed hope the Chinese authorities would not seek to block access to Google services, which also include popular video site YouTube.

"We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services," he said.

"In terms of Google's wider business operations, we intend to continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence there," Drummond said. "The size of the sales team will obviously be partially dependent on the ability of mainland Chinese users to access Google.com.hk."

China has denied involvement in the December cyberattacks which Google said targeted more than 20 other companies and included attempts to access the email accounts of Chinese human rights activists around the world.

Drummond said China made it clear during negotiations that Google would not be allowed to offer an uncensored search engine.

"We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement," he said.

"We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced -- it's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China," he said.

Drummond stressed that "all these decisions have been driven and implemented by our executives in the United States, and that none of our employees in China can, or should, be held responsible for them."

Google launched its Chinese-language search engine in January 2006 after agreeing to censor websites for content banned under Chinese law.

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Google 'thinks out of box' on China: activists
Washington (AFP) March 22, 2010
Human rights advocates on Monday hailed Google for ending censorship of its Chinese-language search engine, saying it had found an innovative way to safeguard freedom of expression. More than two months after threatening to bolt China, Google said it would maintain a presence in China and redirect users to an unfiltered Chinese-language search engine based in Hong Kong. Sharon Hom, execu ... read more

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