[FC-discuss] Fwd: Google to stop censoring in China

Fri Jan 15 03:32:34 EST 2010

Yes, this has been there since they started censoring. I wonder if they will
remove it once they completely phase out the filtering.

On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 10:58 AM, Oliver Day <oday at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:

> Ironically at the bottom in Chinese is this phrase:
> "据当地法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。"
> that translates to:
> "According to local laws, regulations and policies, some search results
> are not shown."
>
> O
>
> Rich Jones wrote:
> > http://images.google.cn/images?q=tiananmen+massacre
> >
> > This is an incredible sight.
> >
> > R
> >
> > On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 12:50 PM, Alex Kozak <akozak at creativecommons.org>
> wrote:
> >> 'm very happy about this. http://i.imgur.com/5xJmy.jpg
> >> - Alex
> >>
> >> On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 4:36 PM, Elizabeth Stark <emstark at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>> http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html
> >>>
> >>> A new approach to China
> >>>
> >>> 1/12/2010 03:00:00 PM
> >>> Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of
> varying
> >>> degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly
> >>> sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure
> >>> originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual
> property
> >>> from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared
> to be
> >>> solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something
> quite
> >>> different.
> >>>
> >>> First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation
> we
> >>> have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide
> range
> >>> of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and
> >>> chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the
> >>> process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the
> >>> relevant U.S. authorities.
> >>>
> >>> Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the
> attackers
> >>> was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
> Based on
> >>> our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that
> >>> objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and
> that
> >>> activity was limited to account information (such as the date the
> account
> >>> was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails
> themselves.
> >>>
> >>> Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on
> >>> Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China-
> and
> >>> Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China
> appear
> >>> to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have
> not
> >>> been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely
> via
> >>> phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers.
> >>>
> >>> We have already used information gained from this attack to make
> >>> infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for
> >>> Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise
> >>> people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on
> their
> >>> computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update
> >>> their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing
> in
> >>> instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal
> information
> >>> like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security
> >>> recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of
> attacks
> >>> can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve's
> >>> blog andthis presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.
> >>>
> >>> We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these
> attacks
> >>> with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights
> >>> implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this
> information
> >>> goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of
> speech. In
> >>> the last two decades, China's economic reform programs and its
> citizens'
> >>> entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese
> people out
> >>> of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic
> >>> progress and development in the world today.
> >>>
> >>> We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits
> of
> >>> increased access to information for people in China and a more open
> Internet
> >>> outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the
> time we
> >>> made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China,
> including
> >>> new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that
> we are
> >>> unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to
> reconsider
> >>> our approach to China."
> >>>
> >>> These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with
> the
> >>> attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the
> web--have
> >>> led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our
> business
> >>> operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to
> continue
> >>> censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we
> will
> >>> be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could
> >>> operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We
> recognize
> >>> that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially
> our
> >>> offices in China.
> >>>
> >>> The decision to review our business operations in China has been
> >>> incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching
> >>> consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our
> >>> executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement
> of our
> >>> employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn
> the
> >>> success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve
> the
> >>> very difficult issues raised.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Discuss mailing list
> >>> Discuss at freeculture.org
> >>> http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Alex Kozak
> >> Education Program Assistant
> >> Creative Commons
> >> 415.369.8492
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
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