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January 25, 2006, 11:58 AM ET
Google to Censor Chinese Searches
Striking yet another blow against Chinese scholars, Google has agreed to censor results on a new version of its search service for the nation's computer users.
Google has, for some time, operated a Chinese-language search engine on an American Web address. The company has not censored results on that site, but China's government has intermittently blocked access to it. Now, in an attempt to grab a bigger piece of the Internet's fastest-growing market, Google has unveiled www.google.cn, a site that will stay in the good graces of Chinese officials by restricting access to topics like Taiwanese independence and the Tiananmen Square massacre. (Wired News)
Officials at Google -- a company whose informal motto is "Don't be evil" -- swear they didn't take the decision lightly. But bloggers are up in arms over the company's compliance with Chinese censors, and free-speech advocates are accusing the search engine of forsaking its mission for a shot at furthering its worldwide hegemony. (Financial Times)
Google is not the first online company to bow to Chinese officials: Both Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN.com have drawn fire for censoring their sites in the country.
Categories: Search-Engines
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