China is not prepared to bow to Google
After Google announced yesterday that it would no longer allow its services in China to be censored, the Chinese government responded today.
According to Netzwoche.ch, a spokesperson announced that China had no plans to change its policy for Google. Rather, it is the task of the state to control the formation of opinion on the internet, where things such as pornography, hacker attacks and online fraud pose major threats to society.
It is not surprising that China is not prepared to bow down to Google. Especially as Google has never really got off the ground in China and a withdrawal by the company is unlikely to have much impact on the Internet in the Middle Kingdom. In this respect, it is not surprising that many observers see Google's change of direction as more of a publicity stunt than a commitment to its own slogan "Don't be evil", which has suffered in recent times. Nevertheless, the action is unlikely to be without consequences. After all, it is not just Google that has been criticized for years for its cooperation with the Chinese government. The same applies to Cisco, Microsoft and Yahoo. Google's change of direction is likely to increase the pressure on these companies.
It is not surprising that China is not prepared to bow down to Google. Especially as Google has never really got off the ground in China and a withdrawal by the company is unlikely to have much impact on the Internet in the Middle Kingdom. In this respect, it is not surprising that many observers see Google's change of direction as more of a publicity stunt than a commitment to its own slogan "Don't be evil", which has suffered in recent times. Nevertheless, the action is unlikely to be without consequences. After all, it is not just Google that has been criticized for years for its cooperation with the Chinese government. The same applies to Cisco, Microsoft and Yahoo. Google's change of direction is likely to increase the pressure on these companies.
