All year long, the hungry geniuses of Google, Yahoo, and MSN (GooHooM) have patiently explained to a skeptical world why, by helping thugs suppress their captive citizens, GooHooM is really enlightening the citizen-prisoners.
The publicly stated rationale is simple: Citizens get more information than they otherwise would, and you must always comply with the laws of the host country.
Therefore, censorship of writings on obscenities like “freedom” and “democracy” is natural. And helping authorities corral the evil-doers who commit such acts is proper.
It’s only right… right?
Like most pinhead mindmelds, it sounds great on paper… especially to GooHooM’s accountants.
But it gets messy when you see who’s being suppressed and how.
In Germany’s Spiegel Magazine, Andreas Lorenz told about the kidnapping of the entire family of an activist jailed for documenting state-forced abortions. Their crime? Contacting reporters.
And that’s just for starters.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that China leads the world in jailing reporters. All in all, Reporters Without Borders claims 32 reporters and 51 cyber-dissedents have been imprisoned.
In addition, researcher Zhao Yan, of New York Times’ Beijing bureau, is on trial for leaking state secrets and fraud. So far, he’s been in detainment for 22 months.
Gary Feuerberg and Terri Wu wrote in The Epoch Times that 18 have been incarcerated for Internet-related crimes.”
They captured Bob Dietz, Asia Program Coordinator for CPJ, speechifying at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.:
Speaking of western technology companies, such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google, that have assisted China in suppression of press freedom on the Internet, Mr. Dietz noted that the CPJ deals with those companies a lot. “We do believe these companies have considerable leverage in China. We do not buy their claim: ‘We have to do business in China. Our business activities will eventually bring China around.’” The CPJ is seeking to increase public pressure on this issue, and relies on the western companies themselves to make the right choice. Each of these companies was founded upon some ideal, he observed. Assisting China in suppressing press freedom and persecuting its own people is controversial inside those companies.”
The CPJ fears that, if GooHooM doesn’t find its morals soon, China may become the poster-country for other totalitarians.
Unfortunately, it already has.
7 comments
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June 29th, 2006 at 9:28 am
PJ
c’mon, give ‘em a break… we’ll get China hooked on the information drug (first one’s free!), then threats for such companies to pull out will be all the more persuasive. Change always comes from within, not without, so if you want to change something, you first have to get inside it…
June 29th, 2006 at 10:23 am
BJ
Gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet, eh?
Of course, that’s not much comfort if you’re one of the eggs.
June 29th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Jimbo
While it’s true that the best way to cause change is often from the inside, it’s been alleged that some of these firms are actively collaborating to jail dissidents. I understand that there’s serious money to be made in China and elsewhere, but tactics like this are disgusting.
Anything for a buck, I guess.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:59 am
KQ
PJ: So the same China that’s so afraid of using American software that they’re developing their own operating system, is going to be so afraid of losing Google that they’ll change their totalitarian politics? I’m having trouble seeing that.
June 29th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
Shava Nerad
Go to http://tor.eff.org/ and do a few more things, and you can participate in civil society without this kind of danger being quite so dire. See also the guide for bloggers and dissidents at http://www.rsf.org/
June 29th, 2006 at 4:29 pm
BJ
Hi Shava.
Great advice.
We covered Tor a few months back: “Google This: You Don’t Need Search Engines To Protect Your Privacy”
(http://www.emailbattles.com/archive/battles/security_aachcacace_ae/)
July 12th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
eric wilson
Somehow, all this reminds me of the disengenous rationals of arms dealers and the American companies that did buseinss with Nazi Germany (until they ill-advisedly declared war on the US) and Franco’s rebels during the Spanish Civil War. Admittedly, the Spanish Republicans included Communists, (but not Fascits. Either the US and it’s comanies hold a hard-line about human rights, or we just admit that if we don’t “bend” our so-called principles, someone else will, and, heaven forbid (!) take out market share.
There comes a time when honor, dignity, and values (not family) have to be paid for. That time is every momment of every day.