Search Sleaze and China

Via-Littlegreenfootballs.com

Tiananmen

Tiananmen

From Times Online Gates defends China's internet restrictions.

Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, took the rare step of standing up for arch-rival Google today as he argued that state censorship was no reason for technology companies not to do business in China.

The richest man in the world told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he thought the internet "is contributing to Chinese political engagement" as "access to the outside world is preventing more censorship".

I've been around the block a few times, seen some sights & sites on the good old www but thats the first time a SERP has made me feel physically sick.

That is enough to make me ill. Absolutely the most powerful contrast I recall seeing.

tried from several proxies - redirected to the google.com
(*thought* IP delivery is a NO-NO) :-)

screenshot?

On the Official Google Blog, Andrew McLaughlin, senior policy counsel, posts 'Google in China'.

.... This problem could only be resolved by creating a local presence, and this week we did so, by launching Google.cn, our website for the People's Republic of China. In order to do so, we have agreed to remove certain sensitive information from our search results. We know that many people are upset about this decision, and frankly, we understand their point of view. This wasn't an easy choice, but in the end, we believe the course of action we've chosen will prove to be the right one.

Filtering our search results clearly compromises our mission. Failing to offer Google search at all to a fifth of the world's population, however, does so far more severely. Whether our critics agree with our decision or not, due to the severe quality problems faced by users trying to access Google.com from within China, this is precisely the choice we believe we faced. By launching Google.cn and making a major ongoing investment in people and infrastructure within China, we intend to change that.

We're in this for the long haul. In the years to come, we'll be making significant and growing investments in China. Our launch of google.cn, though filtered, is a necessary first step toward achieving a productive presence in a rapidly changing country that will be one of the world's most important and dynamic for decades to come. To some people, a hard compromise may not feel as satisfying as a withdrawal on principle, but we believe it's the best way to work toward the results we all desire.

>Andrew McLaughlin

All the statements coming out of Google seem to carry the conceit that somehow China just cannot possibly get along with out Google.

FDR (and Truman) had delusions that they could reason with and do business with Joe Stalin right after World War II, despite Churchill's warnings. If Andrew McLaughlin, thinks that Google investing money is going to provide some sort of leverage on the Communist regime in China I would suggest he is sadly mistaken.

According to News.com Google made their filter less aggressive so that it is more in line with the competition.