Google censors users in China

2006-01-25 08:44

Beijing - The world's biggest internet search engine, Google, has agreed to censor searches by the estimated 111 million internet users in China, following the lead of its main competitors, the company said on Wednesday.

Google on Wednesday officially launched a new www.google.cn site that will filter out or block links to material likely to be considered politically sensitive by China's ruling Communist Party.

"This has been a very difficult decision for us," a Google executive said.

"In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn, in response to local law, regulation or policy," Google said in a statement.

The move drew condemnation from rights groups, with Paris-based Reporters Without Borders accusing Google of hypocrisy.

"The launch of Google.cn is a black day for freedom of expression in China," Reporters Without Borders said.

Height of hypocrisy

"Google's statements about respecting online privacy are the height of hypocrisy in view of its strategy in China," the group said.

"Like its competitors, the company says it has no choice and must obey Chinese laws, but this is a tired argument."

The Chinese government carefully polices the internet, blocking hundreds of overseas websites that have political or other content it considers sensitive.

Yahoo and Microsoft are among the major global search engines that already censor results in China.

Google searches in Chinese were previously directed through a US-based server, with censorship applied only by the Chinese government.

The company admitted that the operation of the new censored search engine was "inconsistent with Google's mission".

"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission," Google said.

"In deciding how best to approach the Chinese - or any - market, we must balance our commitments to satisfy the interests of users, expand access to information, and respond to local conditions."

Most of the hardware and software for China's policing of the internet is provided by global leaders in the information-technology industry.

The government has sentenced several dissidents and others to prison for sending or posting online comments that are deemed explicitly or implicitly critical of the ruling Communist Party or for revealing "state secrets." - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA