The Dichotomy That Is Google
So now we’re going through a Google phase. You know the scenario: the US government comes to Google and says, “we want the search results for this number of days. Give them up.” And Google, raising its hood of righteousness, replies something akin to, “Are you frelling crazy? Sure, we have all that info –and a heck of a lot more, personal stuff, y’know? But that’s for us to see and for you to guess about. Even handing over just the search results –and absolutely no user info-- would be a total violation of our users’ privacy and we just can’t see ourselves doing that in this lifetime. Besides, we believe in the slippery slope of life, so sod off!”
Then there’s China… The Chinese government shows up at Google’s door (and remember, this is the company who’s motto is, “Don’t be evil,”) and says, “If you want to do business here in our country then you will play by our rules, block search terms we tell you to block, and generally kiss our butt in any way we tell you too. If not, you will not be allowed to operate here and you will lose billions in advertising.” Raising its hood of righteousness, Google replied, “In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn, in response to local law, regulation or policy.”
One of my acquaintances had an interesting comment about the situation: “They're a U.S. firm. They want to do business in China, and will do business in whatever way the Chinese government will let them. OTOH, by gum, they're Americans, and don't have to take that kind of crap from their own gummint! As odd as it may seem, I wholeheartedly agree.”
The only reply I could think of was, “So it's okay for them to trade their ethics for cash; they just shouldn't give them away?”
Mind you, I don’t necessarily disagree with his assessment of the situation. It’s a variation on the “Different strokes for different folks,” scenario. And it’s done almost every day in business, politics, and yes, even personal life. What does bother me, however, is the turn things have taken since things have become so globalized. Ethics have become a commodity.
On the US side of the issue, the reason for the request, on face value, was to help the government make a case for fighting the availability of pornography on the Internet to minors. In China, again at face value, the rationale was to restrict the people’s ability to know the truth of what was happening either as a direct result of their own government or as a cascade effect of their government’s actions.
Apparently, clamping down on the freedom of information is perfectly fine when done in exchange for wheelbarrows filled with cash but fighting against pornography and its effects on children creates a high moral wall. (And let’s be honest, at least among ourselves. If China says to Google, “we want the name and ISP address of this, this, and that person because they have sinned against the state,” Google isn’t going to protest or even ask for cause beyond the request itself. Once you sell your soul, it’s almost impossible to buy it back.)
And therein lies the disagreement I have with my online friend: Ethics, morality, one’s code of existence, should be consistent at the very least. Else wise, it’s simply the posturing of hypocritical behavior.
Then there’s China… The Chinese government shows up at Google’s door (and remember, this is the company who’s motto is, “Don’t be evil,”) and says, “If you want to do business here in our country then you will play by our rules, block search terms we tell you to block, and generally kiss our butt in any way we tell you too. If not, you will not be allowed to operate here and you will lose billions in advertising.” Raising its hood of righteousness, Google replied, “In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn, in response to local law, regulation or policy.”
One of my acquaintances had an interesting comment about the situation: “They're a U.S. firm. They want to do business in China, and will do business in whatever way the Chinese government will let them. OTOH, by gum, they're Americans, and don't have to take that kind of crap from their own gummint! As odd as it may seem, I wholeheartedly agree.”
The only reply I could think of was, “So it's okay for them to trade their ethics for cash; they just shouldn't give them away?”
Mind you, I don’t necessarily disagree with his assessment of the situation. It’s a variation on the “Different strokes for different folks,” scenario. And it’s done almost every day in business, politics, and yes, even personal life. What does bother me, however, is the turn things have taken since things have become so globalized. Ethics have become a commodity.
On the US side of the issue, the reason for the request, on face value, was to help the government make a case for fighting the availability of pornography on the Internet to minors. In China, again at face value, the rationale was to restrict the people’s ability to know the truth of what was happening either as a direct result of their own government or as a cascade effect of their government’s actions.
Apparently, clamping down on the freedom of information is perfectly fine when done in exchange for wheelbarrows filled with cash but fighting against pornography and its effects on children creates a high moral wall. (And let’s be honest, at least among ourselves. If China says to Google, “we want the name and ISP address of this, this, and that person because they have sinned against the state,” Google isn’t going to protest or even ask for cause beyond the request itself. Once you sell your soul, it’s almost impossible to buy it back.)
And therein lies the disagreement I have with my online friend: Ethics, morality, one’s code of existence, should be consistent at the very least. Else wise, it’s simply the posturing of hypocritical behavior.
posted by Bill at 11:58 PM
2 Comments:
Well google have to egt into the market to do some good. Once they have more power in China you can be sure they will stand up for what good in an entierly different way.
Yeah, Googlemen Square....
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