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Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

theintercept.com

11–20 of 42 posts

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#11
post #5
post #4

First the military drones, now getting in bed with China, and the law straw was removing almost every mention of "Don't be evil" from its workers' code of conduct manual. I think it's pretty clear at this point Google is willing to sell their own mothers (and your data) just to keep those profitable quarters up for many more years. As more advertisers start preferring Facebook, I think Google will become even more de…

I guess it's what you get when you get judged by revenue growth, not just revenue, or even by people-employed-and-kept well-fed or some other more sensible metric.

It's either that or pay dividends...

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#12
post #4

First the military drones, now getting in bed with China, and the law straw was removing almost every mention of "Don't be evil" from its workers' code of conduct manual. I think it's pretty clear at this point Google is willing to sell their own mothers (and your data) just to keep those profitable quarters up for many more years. As more advertisers start preferring Facebook, I think Google will become even more de…

"Don't be evil" was cute marketing, never a serious statement. It was removed precisely because people kept using it to argue against anything the company did.

Advertisers are also not leaving Google at all, and Facebook is not a replacement.

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#14
There seems to be a hypocrisy with people upset about censorship on behalf of China, but don’t seem all that upset about censorship on behalf of the EU (eg RTBF) or censorship when it supports their politics (eg hate speech)

I don’t support this theoretical move, but asserting Google should pull out/stay out of China and not obey/comply with local laws, and yet argue that the EU local laws should have global reach seems unjustified and unequal respect for sovereignty.

Let’s face it, the core issue here isn’t free speech and censorship, it’s speech you like or censorship you like vs those you don’t.

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#15

There seems to be a hypocrisy with people upset about censorship on behalf of China, but don’t seem all that upset about censorship on behalf of the EU (eg RTBF) or censorship when it supports their politics (eg hate speech) I don’t support this theoretical move, but asserting Google should pull out/stay out of China and not obey/comply with local laws, and yet argue that the EU local laws should have global reach se…

Placing China and the EU in the same category in regards to human rights, press freedom, and individual freedom is disqualifying yourself from any discussion about the topic.

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#16

There seems to be a hypocrisy with people upset about censorship on behalf of China, but don’t seem all that upset about censorship on behalf of the EU (eg RTBF) or censorship when it supports their politics (eg hate speech) I don’t support this theoretical move, but asserting Google should pull out/stay out of China and not obey/comply with local laws, and yet argue that the EU local laws should have global reach se…

The Right To Be Forgotten is to protect citizens while China's censorship exists to protect its government.

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#17
post #9
post #4

First the military drones, now getting in bed with China, and the law straw was removing almost every mention of "Don't be evil" from its workers' code of conduct manual. I think it's pretty clear at this point Google is willing to sell their own mothers (and your data) just to keep those profitable quarters up for many more years. As more advertisers start preferring Facebook, I think Google will become even more de…

> keep those profitable quarters Isn't it actually illegal for publicly traded companies to do otherwise?

No this is actually a myth.

“More to the point, corporate directors are protected from most interference when it comes to running their business by a doctrine known as the business judgment rule. It says, in brief, that so long as a board of directors is not tainted by personal conflicts of interest and makes a reasonable effort to stay informed, courts will not second-guess the board’s decisions about what is best for the company — even when those decisions predictably reduce profits or share price.”

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-co...

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#18

There seems to be a hypocrisy with people upset about censorship on behalf of China, but don’t seem all that upset about censorship on behalf of the EU (eg RTBF) or censorship when it supports their politics (eg hate speech) I don’t support this theoretical move, but asserting Google should pull out/stay out of China and not obey/comply with local laws, and yet argue that the EU local laws should have global reach se…

China is an authoritarian one-party state with a history of violating the human rights of its citizens. The EU, for all its bureaucratic flaws, is a democratic institution with a history of respect for rights and the rule of law.

So yes, absolutely, there are strong moral reasons to treat EU laws differently than Chinese laws.

Re: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal

#19
What is wrong with this? It is as if Google spider bot sits within China.

What is the use of showing the result, if the users can't access the content? It makes sense to filter the result than showing an 'unauthorised' error on clicking the link.

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