We May Pull Plug On Our Censored Chinese Website, Says Google

The co-founder of Google has acknowledged that the internet search giant compromised its principles by agreeing to Chinese censorship demands and says it may reverse its decision.

During a visit to Capitol Hill, Sergey Brin said the company's much-criticised deal to allow politically sensitive information to be filtered from web searches in China was struck only after Beijing blocked its main service.

Google was examining whether the compromise - "a set of rules that we weren't comfortable with" - could still work before rethinking the arrangement, he said.

"We felt that perhaps we could compromise our principles but provide ultimately more information for the Chinese and be a more effective service and perhaps make more of a difference," Mr Brin told reporters. "Perhaps, now, the principled approach makes more sense."

The launch in January of Google.cn, which allows authorities to censor information from searches considered political sensitive - such as details about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and Taiwan - has been widely perceived as a betrayal of the company's founding principle number six: "You can make money without doing evil."

Google, which grew out of a graduate students' research project by Mr Brin and Larry Page, launched as a company in 1998. It attracted praise for its relaxed corporate culture, idealistic stance and other principles, such as: "You can be serious without a suit."

The California-based company earns money through adverts that appear alongside search results. There is huge potential for this in China.

But the Communist government demands censorship compliance by internet firms seeking a foothold in the surging economy. Rival firms, such as Microsoft and Yahoo!, have also been criticised for their activities there. Yahoo! has been widely condemned by human rights groups for handing over information that has led to the jailing of two dissidents.

Google has previously defended its own "difficult decision", saying that while the arrangement was not "something we're proud of", it was better than not being in China and would "ultimately benefit" web users there.

Mr Brin, 32, now one of the world's richest people, was in Washington to lobby on behalf of "net neutrality" - the idea that all internet content should be handled equally.

He asked senators to back a plan that would prevent telephone and cable firms from collecting premium fees from internet service providers for delivering their services faster.

The appearance in Washington of a casually dressed Mr Brin marks a departure for Google, which has traditionally kept a low profile on Capitol Hill.

Recent issues, such as concerns about the personal data Google retains on users, its battle to resist a Department of Justice request for search records, as well as the company's presence in China, have, however, prompted it to take a more conspicuous stance.

This week, the press freedom group, Reporters Without Borders, said Google's main site, Google.com, was no longer accessible in most Chinese provinces due to censorship and was completely in-accessible throughout China on May 31.

The Paris-based group has called Beijing "the world champion of internet censorship".

Russia-born Mr Brin said his company was trying to improve Google.cn before deciding whether to change tack.

"It's perfectly reasonable to do something different - to say, 'Look, we're going to stand by the principle against censorship, and we won't actually operate there.' That's an alternative path," he said.

"It's not where we chose to go right now, but I can sort of see how people came to different conclusions about doing the right thing."

China 'blocks' main Google site

BBC
6-8-2006

More than 100 million people are online in China

Chinese authorities have blocked most domestic users from the main Google.com search engine, a media watchdog said. Internet users in major Chinese cities faced difficulties accessing Google's international site in the past week, Reporters Without Borders said.

But Google.cn, the controversial Chinese language version launched in January, has not been affected.

The site blocks politically sensitive material to comply with government censorship rules.

"It was only to be expected that Google.com would be gradually sidelined after the censored version was launched in January," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

"Google has just definitively joined the club of Western companies that comply with online censorship in China," the organisation said.

Google.com, the search engine's uncensored international site, had previously been available to Chinese web users, but problems accessing the site had been reported across the country recently. It was blocked nationwide on 31 May, the statement said.

The blocking was also being extended to Google News and Google Mail, Reporters Without Borders said.

'Principled approach'

A spokeswoman for Goggle in Beijing said that the problem was under investigation.

GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA

* Foreign websites covering politics and sensitive issues are blocked
* Chinese internet providers face strict censorship Websites, forums and blogs must officially register and are monitored
* China's internet 'police' thought to number 50,000 censors

Web censorship worldwide

The spokeswoman, Cui Jin, said she could not give any more information.

On Tuesday, Google co-founder Sergey Brin defended his company's decision to launch the censored Google.cn service, a move which drew heavy criticism.

"We felt that perhaps we could compromise our principles but provide ultimately more information for the Chinese and be a more effective service," he said.

"Perhaps now the principled approach makes more sense."

In addition to Google, US companies Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco Systems have also been accused of accommodating China's demands on censorship in return for access to its huge internet market.

The Chinese government's internet filtering is some of the most sophisticated in the world.

Content considered to be a threat, including references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and notable dissidents, is blocked.

Chinese authorities have also stepped up measures against software designed to bypass internet censorship, the Reporters Without Borders statement said.

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