Google seeks principled path

TORONTO -- Google Inc.’s decision to censor search results in China was one that never seemed to sit quite right with co-founder Sergey Brin.

For a company whose mantra is “Don’t Be Evil” and that was founded on the belief that the Internet’s ability to enable the free exchange of ideas made the world a better place, censoring search results in order to bring its technology to China was a tough pill to swallow.

In June 2006, just a few months after the launch of Google.cn in China, Mr. Brin told reporters on Capital Hill in Washington that the company was forced to self-censor some of its search results as a result of demands made by the Chinese government. But it seemed he wasn’t happy about the decision or the criticism it drew from human rights groups around the world.

“We felt that perhaps we could compromise our principles but provide ultimately more information for the Chinese and be a more effective service and perhaps make more of a difference,” he said at the time.

“Perhaps now the principled approach makes more sense ... it’s perfectly reasonable to do something different, to say, ‘Look, we’re going to stand by the principle against censorship and we won’t actually operate there.’ That’s an alternate path.”

On Tuesday, Google began exploring the possibility of that alternate path by announcing it would no longer self-censor search results on Google.cn, acknowledging that the company could be forced to shut down its operations in China as a result.

Google’s announcement came after the company suffered a series of “highly-sophisticated” cyber attacks last month that targeted Google’s own intellectual property, the e-mail accounts of human rights activists in China and the operations of at least 20 other international companies.

Google said it planned to discuss the possibility of operating an unfiltered search engine in China with the country’s government over the next few weeks.

Wednesday, previously censored images of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, reports of the torture of Falun Gong prisoners and rumours surrounding the Chinese governing party were available through Google.cn.

Human rights and civil liberties organizations around the world applauded Google’s decision.

“It spells out the consequences of the kind of compromises that really any Internet company has to make in the Chinese market,” said Danny O’Brien, international outreach co-ordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.

Some observers believe that if Google does end up shuttering the Chinese-language Google.cn, the Chinese government may further restrict access to the company’s main search engine, which enables users to perform searches in Chinese and other languages in addition to English.

“I’d be very interested to see if Google starts throwing its technological prowess towards circumventing ‘the Great Firewall,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Because of its position as one of the world’s largest technology companies and an outspoken international advocate of the open Internet, many observers likened Google’s statement to a nation state threatening to sever diplomatic relations with China.

“Google has more power than even it realizes,” said Jeff Jarvis, director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York and author of the book “What Would Google Do?”

“Google relies entirely on free speech and openness for its business. So it was in Google’s enlightened self interest to fight for free speech in China and not to acquiesce so easily. I think what we’re seeing here is Google as a quasi-state arriving, that then sets an example for other companies in technology, other companies otherwise, and for governments.”

Indeed, search rival Yahoo Inc. issued a statement saying it supported Google’s position on China, but would not comment on whether its solidarity would include selling its 39% stake in China’s Alibaba Group.

Google’s statement reached the corridors of power in Washington Wednesday and threatened to further strain relations between the U.S. and China.

“We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. “We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy.”

In Beijing, flowers were laid beside a sign emblazoned with Google’s trademark primary-coloured logo outside the company’s offices.

Reuters reported that Chinese authorities were “seeking more information on Google’s statement,” according to the Xinhua news agency, citing an unnamed official from China’s State Council Information office, the government wing of the country’s propaganda system.

Wall Street’s reaction to Google’s decision was decidedly mixed. While some analysts worry about the potential online advertising dollars Google could be tossing aside by pulling out of the world’s most populous market, others contend that Google was never going to be a major player in China and that the goodwill the company has earned in other countries by taking a stand against Chinese censorship will equate to greater traffic overall.

“While the final outcome of the situation is uncertain, we believe that there is a high probability that Google.cn will not be allowed to operate in China without its search results being censored,” J.P. Morgan financial analyst Imran Khan wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.

Analysts estimate Google earned between US$400-million and US$500-million in China in 2009, and was on pace to generate as much as $US600-million in revenue in 2010. However, others believe those estimates to be too high, placing Google’s Chinese revenue for 2010 closer to $350-million.

Google accounts for about 31% per cent of the Chinese search market, compared with about 64% for rival Baidu, according to Analysys International.

China is home to the world’s largest Internet population with about 360 million users, according to the market research firm Internet World Stats. However, with only about 27% of the company online, analysts believe the country represents a significant growth opportunity for Web companies.

mhartley@nationalpost.com