Article Blog 1: Google vs. China

In the article, “Google’s Defiance in China Gaining Support,” (see link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/googles-defiance-in-china-gaining-support/article1430253/) Omar El Akkad explains the reasons behind why the Internet corporation would decide to leave China. As many people know, China is governed by Communism in which the government represses its citizens, especially when Internet freedom comes into play. By Google threatening to leave China, they are putting morals before business by supporting human rights. Akkad writes, “For years, the Web giant’s willingness to censor content in order to access the Chinese market has stood in stark contrast to its unofficial motto: “Don’t be evil.” But after publicly alleging a cyber-attack on its operations, rebuking Beijing for its repression of Internet freedom and threatening to leave China altogether – a move unheard of for a major corporation – Google has forced other technology firms, American politicians and even the U.S. government to support its cause.” This shows that Google could accompany human rights activists in China by discontinuing its Google.cn website and ultimately bring about change in China with regards to the rights of Chinese citizens.

In my opinion, by Google threatening to discontinue service in China based on moral issues, it goes much farther than making a financial profit. The owner’s of Google are standing up for human rights. After the Chinese government used the Internet to spy and convict Chinese human rights activists with Google accounts, Google began trying to stop censoring news and information in China. This shows that Google is in support of the most basic human freedoms and rights, even if they may lose revenue. For example, in another article, “Google and China go to War,” (see link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/points-east/google-and-china-go-to-war/article1429897/) Mark MacKinnon wrote, “Both sides have plenty to lose, with Google admitting it may have to withdraw from the potentially lucrative Chinese market – the world’s largest, with more than 300 million Internet users – and the Chinese government likely to lose international respectability over allegations that it participate in or tolerated the hacking of Gmail accounts belonging to Chinese human rights activists and others.” It is true that Google has the potential of losing revenue by discontinuing Google.cn, but isn’t human rights of greater concern? Most importantly, if Google withdraws from China, not only will it benefit society and human rights, but the Chinese government loses its prestige through these actions in the minds of its own people. The only problem that arises from this situation is that by Google withdrawing from China, it could quite possibly make it easier for the Chinese government to rule their people’s views by controlling the type of information being reported to the public. Overall, this issue will positively affect society because Google is making a stand on moral principles at the expense of corporate profit. It is ironic that in a capitalist society like that in America, Google is standing up for the individual rights of the Chinese people. In closing, the concern for Google is losing the world’s largest customer base. Although supporting human rights may not be the most profitable decision, it certainly is the most ethical.