Unfortunately, the Chinese government is communist and controls all forms of media and therefore what their citizens will see on Google and Yahoo. I think it's wrong that they have to censor their information, as all information should be available to all people, but these companies are simply complying with governmental policies and should not bear the blame. The Chinese government is as big into propoganda as the Soviet Union was during the Cold War, and Google and Yahoo have no choice but to go along with it. Once again, I think that this situation as a whole is wrong, but I can't fault Google or Yahoo for doing only what they can legally.
These companies, when it comes down to it, will provide different search results in different countries because of relevancy. Certain keywords will be relevant to one search result in one country while they will be important to something completely different in another country. The sites are simply giving the various groups of people the information that they need, and I think that is the correct way for them to do it.
China = bad - but not because of the companies.
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I used to think China was "bad" too for keeping tight control over the media. I still don't like it, but I now understand it better. When you don't have a democracy and are trying to keep a billion or so folks in harmony, it takes a different approach. I think the opening of China will happen during our lifetimes and it will be interesting to watch.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the opening of China would be incredible to watch. I hope you are right about that. I had never considered this point of view until I read your comment. Perhaps what China does is absolutely necessary to control that large, rapidly growing population. I believe that all people deserve to have all information available to them. However, I will accept that China may be doing what is necessary.
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