Eight years after internet giant Google left China citing concerns about censorship, it’s reportedly looking at going back. Staff are up in arms, and humans rights groups are also concerned about what it means for activists and privacy in the country.
What is Google doing in China?
An article in The Intercept last month revealed a secret project by Google (code-named “Dragonfly”) to develop a search engine that would comply with China’s strict censorship laws (which the ABC has this week fallen foul of). Calls from academics in China encouraged Google to reenter the restrictive regime — they wanted access to Google Scholar, which publishes academic articles not otherwise easily available in their country. China is a huge market for online players, and is hard for Google to ignore.
According to The Intercept, Google has been working on a censored search engine that will blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest — topics that are censored on websites allowed in the country. The new app would be allowed behind China’s infamous firewall, which blocks the world’s biggest search engine within China (as well as many other websites).
How have employees responded?
The move has upset the famously (but not entirely) libertarian Silicon Valley employees of the internet giant, who are said to be revolting. The New York Times reported last month that 1400 employees had signed a letter protesting an expansion into China, and that others had refused to work on the project, while CNN reported that at a company meeting CEO Sundar Pichai responded by saying that the company “wasn’t even close” to getting started in China.
Part of The Intercept’s report included a former employees’ essay about the project and the ethical issues they saw with the project, in particular the restrictions on free speech.
And the rest of the world?
It’s not just internally that the move has raised concerns, either. Human Rights Watch has urged Google not to go ahead with any moves into China, which it calls a “a one-party authoritarian state that systemically curbs fundamental rights”. And in a joint open letter, the world’s leading human rights organisations last week wrote to Pichai expressing their “concern” at the project. The letter, signed by organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said the move was an “alarming capitulation”:
The project … would represent an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights. The Chinese government extensively violates the rights to freedom of expression and privacy; by accommodating the Chinese authorities’ repression of dissent, Google would be actively participating in those violations for millions of internet users in China … Since Google publicly exited the search market in China in 2010, citing restrictions to freedom of expression online, the Chinese government has strengthened its controls over the internet and intensified.
Google hasn’t officially responded to any of the commentary.
Hasn’t Google been in China before?
Between 2006 and 2010 Google ran a censored version of its search engine in China. But, in 2010, it pulled out, after it found that Gmail accounts — Google’s email service — belonging to Chinese human rights activists were being “routinely accessed by third parties”. At the time, Google said:
These attacks and the surveillance they uncovered — combined with attempts over the last year to further limit free speech on the web in China including the persistent blocking of websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Docs and Blogger — had led us to conclude that we could no longer continue censoring our results on Google.cn.
What are other Western tech companies doing in China?
China is an attractive market, but non-Chinese companies are greatly hampered by the Great Firewall. In June, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Recode he was interested in pursuing interests in China, but the nation’s officials pulled his licence for a subsidiary company just hours after it was granted in that same month.
Yahoo is still operating in China. It was the main subject of a high-profile case in the mid-2000s, where it cooperated with the Chinese government in persecuting dissidents, including journalists.
Twitter is blocked in China, replaced by Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo. YouTube and SnapChat are also blocked. And while Amazon is not blocked, it’s vastly overshadowed by online retail store Alibaba.
Doesn’t NSA have a direct feed from Google USA/world?
Being a Five Eyes player don’t we also contribute to this feed?
Bad as this China story is, we really are on a high horse when whinging about them.
We’re only a firewall away from emulating the Chinese thanks to the LNP/ALP fake security alliance.
The poor old ABC didn’t fall foul of China’s censorship laws – it was collateral damage in China’s annoyance of the blocking of Huawei – not its fault at all.
… amateurish – I’m sorry to say Emily – but let’s see what we can do to fix it up; at least somewhat.
Eight years ago google was incurring extensive attacks including denial of service attacks from China; at least their internal security team, directed by Sergey Brin (a co-founder of Google), took that view. Page and Brin (the founders) had something of a Mission Statement that included the phrase “do no evil” or “don’t do evil”. Withdrawing from China satisfied the Mission theme and provided some (much needed) protection.
The reality is that if Google doesn’t take a lead in China some other bunny will take such a lead and trump (if that is the word) Google; at least that is the treat from the SWOT analysis – of doing nothing. As to internal protests the 1400 employees amount to about 3% of the staff (world wide) and if that is the extent of the noise then the noise could safely be ignored.
As to Amazon there is a Amazon.cn and an account there serves on Amazon.com too; smart eh(?) and I do know because I do have accounts on both sites. Yes Amazon does have a lot of internal competition but for “western stuff “- particularity books – both Amazon sites are rather good.
Some nationals of a research persuasion in the African states are snapping out of it in regard to the aid that is being extended to the region. It might be a case of “better late than never” but it is also the new reality. Keep in mind, simultaneously, that China has a multi-layered society and there is considerable delegation to each of the Provinces and the Autonomous Regions. Yeah : it begins to get complicated which, somehow, doesn’t prevent simple-minded assessments from the WSJ down – of the Chinese economy and its affect on multi-nationals (or just monopolies – or oligopolies).
Why are we unconcerned about what will happen when, NOT IF, the big beasts of the Net decide that our own access will be restricted?
Like your scungey neighbourhood pusher, the first taste is free but once hooked, there will be a price.
Not wanting to go all Rev 13:17 or nuttin but hands up all those who could survive without free & unfettered.
Off grid has never been more enticing.
Staff are up in arms!
Egads, nerds with stylus pens and skate boards and pithy placards. Youch, the apocalypse cometh.
I don’t quite get the China hysteria. Is the problem that it’s a one party State? All the other adjectives apply to the west. “Authoritarian states that systematically curb individual rights”. FFS. The USA systematically curbs the rights of all nations as does the EU as does our own government.
I understand the concern about being dictated to by other nations but that is already part and parcel of world affairs. Do I trust Donald Trump and their bought and paid for political system to protect my rights better than Xi Jinping? Holy crap that’s a Faustian bargain.
Neither has my interests or freedoms remotely in mind.