Chinese Blocking Google News, Says Watchdog Group
Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog organization, is accusing Google of being complicit in China's censorship of Google News sites. The Internet search firm made an agreement to eliminate stories critical of the Chinese government from its Chinese-language site, RWB says.
International media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has criticized China for blocking access to Google News.
The organization also has accused Google of being complicit by willingly filtering its Chinese language site to block politically sensitive material.
This marks a fundamental change in the way Google has been operating, said Julien Pain, head of the RWB Internet freedom desk.
"Up until now, Google had been really respectful of freedom of expression," Pain told NewsFactor. "But in the last six months, it seems they've changed their position."
Power Struggle
China is censoring Google News to force Internet users into using the Chinese version of the site, RWB believes. That version, the group has noted, has been purged of news reports that contain information about political groups or criticize the country's government.
Launched in September, the Chinese version has been the subject of controversy from the start, Pain said.
Google made agreements with China so it would not be blocked, according to RWB. These included promises not to list news published by sites like the pro-Falungong Epoch Times and Voice of America.
Search Engine
Although Google has not commented publicly on the issue, Pain said that a Google representative has contacted him to explain the company's position.
"They told me they want to offer a better user experience," said Pain.
Google News executives also cited the need to guarantee quality of service for their users and said there was no point posting links to sites blocked by Chinese filters.
Not Alone
Google is not the only company that allegedly is looking the other way when China flexes its muscle in limiting political expression on the Internet, Pain said.
"Yahoo has been doing what China wants for ages," he noted.
Last year, RWB sent letters to several technology companies, including IBM , Cisco , Hewlett-Packard , Yahoo and Oracle , stating that they were selling material that directly assisted the Chinese government in cracking down on people using the Internet.
The fact that Google seemingly has joined the ranks of companies that ignore Chinese censorship is disappointing, said Pain.
"It's wrong to accept what China is doing just so you can do business in that country," Pain added.
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Regards,
Ovi
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