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The White House supports Google against China
That the American government is stepping in can only mean that the ramifications of Google's maneuvering are potentially catastrophic. Friendship and agreements between the Western world and China have always been tentative and capitalism-driven at best, but for the White House to actually get behind Google and ask China for an explanation -- to potentially drive a wedge between the two most powerful countries in the world over a search engine -- well, we're going to be in for a wild ride.
This might just be preliminary strikes of the cyber war that Western nations and superpowers have been gearing up for in the last few years.
Comments
28
Subscribe to commentscheelundalJan 19th 2010 7:10PM
China is one big hypercritical criminal communist dictatorial regime! guide = censor They are not even the legitimate government to begin with!!! All they do is send us crappy products that are full of second rate materials contaminated with lead, cadmium, radio active metals and poisoned dirty foods!!!! They are EVIL!!!
gojedaJan 15th 2010 10:22AM
"I respect Google now more than ever."
I don't. I've always thought Google was evil. Now, it turns out, they are good liars as well.
Google's moral high-ground here is about as firm as quicksand. If Google actually had any scruples, it would have not kowtow'd to censoring results in the first place.
It was not the persistent attacks on certain Gmail accounts that caused this reversal. It was not the fact that Google feels sudden pangs of conviction or conscious. It was the fact that Google has been losing ground to Baidu in the search engine wars in China.
If Google was #1 in China, I guarantee you we would not be hearing a peep out of Google.
This proclamation of morality by Google might fool many, or even most, people. It doesn't, however, fool everyone.
GenericJan 15th 2010 10:59AM
You're totally off on this one. Google's intellectual property was stolen from inside a government that has a really tight control over its internet. China does know who launched the attacks worldwide and hasn't done anything. This only means that China has allowed this form of behaviour.
Even if Baidu or any other search engine was gaining popularity, Google didn't have to let go of the Chinese market but instead be more aggressive. The reason why Google is threatening to pull out of China is because its own intellectual property was stolen.
gojedaJan 15th 2010 11:44AM
@Generic
What Google has encountered in these attacks are nothing new. Indeed, Gmail is attacked not only in China, but in most of the rest of the world on a daily basis. Intellectual property violations are also nothing new or endemic to Google. All of these things have been taking place since Google entered the Chinese market years ago.
The fact that Baidu has been eating their lunch is not a secret. Google never had a chance in China, and diminishing market share there indicates their prospects look more dim. As for leaving China, they have made no announcement to that effect.
I will re-iterate the point. If Google was #1 in China, this story would have never come to pass. Lest we forget, Google kowtowed to Chinese censors in the first place (a point almost everyone seems to "forget"), so now that the environment in China has gotten downright hostile, there are cries of morality. That is the reason why Google is full of it, and why they are evil - and there really should be no mistaking that.
GenericJan 15th 2010 10:26AM
I totally agree with Google on this. Their computers were breached by the Chinese government for all we know. Presuming that the attackers were individuals or organizations working on their own accord from China, China has tight control over its internet and for that matter it surely knows who the attackers were. Taking this into consideration means that the Chinese government is an accomplice in this attack. The logical step for a profit based company is to not operate in a country that tries to steal its property. If GM manufactured cars in China (I believe they do) and got robbed in broad daylight with all fingers pointing to the Chinese government as an accomplice, I think that the USA would have the same stance. All Google does is work online so all Google property is intellectual property.
CoreyJan 15th 2010 12:13PM
gear up for the cyber war! get your energy drinks and comfy chairs rdy!
DapxinJan 15th 2010 4:17PM
cyberwar ? I thought wars leaves blood...
GenericJan 15th 2010 5:08PM
@gojeda
Well you kinda give the feeling that you make a point but the truth is you are dodging the main point. The thing that gives Google any market edge is what is on its servers. What Google lost during those specific attacks is Google's daily bread, namely what is on its servers.
The thing about Google not being #1 is actually a point to consider in the light of it getting robbed of what gives it a marketing edge coupled with the fact that China is practically silent about those attacks. If I got robbed in China and the Chinese government did nothing about it, I would be outraged too.