Google. Wow.
Never thought I would be posting about Google in the "Politics" topic, but hey.
In response to a wide ranging attack on Google's infrastructure, that is never explicitly blamed on the Chinese government, they are threatening to take their ball and go the fuck home:
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.
...
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.
Seriously. I am awestruck. The Chinese have seriously pissed off The Google. I honestly can't think of another company that would look Wall Street in the face and say, "We are going to tell China to sit and spin."
I have, in this space and personally, defended Google.cn's filtering of search results. They comply with local laws whereever they operate, which includes filtering neo-Nazi material in Germany. God knows what the Auzzies are going to end up with in their current debacle. This, however, really is about the collective Google being pissed. These attacks don't change the nature of legal compliance with filtering, but speak directly to the nature of Rule of Law in China -- only if you work under the presumption that these attacks were the work of the government. I don't know that "Don't be evil" changed between yesterday and today. What changed was redefinition of the rules, and the stirring of ire.
"This far, no farther." Wonder where my Nexus One was fabricated.
I am, however, concerned what Google unilaterally deciding to not filter Google.cn result means to their employees in China. If they have put their staff in a position of facing retribution from the Chinese government, that is galactically irresponsible.
