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February 1, 2006
Temptation in China
China is one of the biggest untapped (semi-tapped...) markets in the world. Companies stand to make a lot of money by providing products and services to Chinese people.
Online services will gain much through subscription fees, advertising revenue etc. Yahoo has made the leap, Google has made the leap.
The unfortunate part of all this is that the Chinese government are draconian in their methods of dealing with 'subversives'. Any company that provides services in China must do so according to the rules of the Chinese government.
Last year the Chinese government asked Yahoo to reveal the secret profile details of a subscriber to their services. Yahoo did so which resulted in a chinese journalist being jailed for ten years.
Doesnt sound so bad until you look at what the journalist is meant to have done. He shared a summary of a Chinese Communist Party directive with foreign sources. The directive had warned of possible unrest during the anniversary of the June 4 Movement - commemorating the Tianamen square massacre and associated events.
Yahoo had the choice - dont share the information and face penalties or at worst expulsion from the Chinese market but save a man from spending 10 years in prison or share the information, keep your profits and dont rock the boat. Bad choice Yahoo - You have now earned the ire of Amnesty International
Google has just recently come under fire for kowtowing to Chinas demands regarding censorship. I happen to trust Google a lot more than I do Yahoo. They have made mostly common sense decisions. Some of the non-issues for me were the scanning of Gmail and the insertion of context sensitive adverts. No human intervention, no storing of details - fine.
Google has to be asked the question - what price 10 years of a mans life? Would Google follow their creed of 'dont be evil' and face reprimands form the Chinese government. Would they do the right thing?
Posted by dottie at February 1, 2006 2:28 PM