Google Wakes Up!!

This article addresses Google's seeking government support to fight Internet censorship abroad, but for reasons of international trade rather than principles of freedom of speech or freedom of inquiry. So perhaps this is a mixed blessing, or is it simply a pragmatic way to address censorship? Certainly international trade agreements, like those on patents through the WTO (World Trade Organization) are not always fair to undeveloped nations, so appeals to international trade are not prima facie based on human rights, and could, in fact, be used against human rights at other times and places. In fact, Google might be a case in point, since it agreed to censor its website in China because the Chinese government made it a condition of allowing Chinese users access to Google web pages. Censorship by governments has become an increasing problem in many Asian nations. Human rights activists often want us to approach such problems with a boycott approach, such as that against apartheid in South Africa. Businesses have often resisted boycotts claiming that they are actually improving the situation for citizens in the countries where they practice business. However, does an information access business work on the same model as other types of business? Would boycotts or sanctions work or is Google's present approach to put pressure through appeals to trade the best approach? "Under World Trade Organization rules, countries can limit trade for national security or public moral reasons" which leaves countries broad justifications for filtering material on the internet or web. Check out this article on Google

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