Stop Google's Collaboration with the Chinese Government

On January 25, 2006, Mountain View, California-based Google announced it would soon launch a China-based Google.cn to improve and speed up its service for Chinese customers. It admitted it would be censored in line with Chinese law but said that while such filtering was against its principles, it was much better that not providing any service at all.

The launch of Google.cn is a black day for freedom of expression in China. Google defends the rights of US Internet users before their own government but fails to defend its Chinese users against theirs. Googles statements about respecting online privacy are the height of hypocrisy in view of its strategy in China. Google says it has no choice and must obey Chinese laws, but this is a tired argument. Freedom of expression isnt a minor principle that can be pushed aside when dealing with a dictatorship. Its a principle recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and features in the Chinese national constitution itself.

To Larry, Sergei and Google management: Don't be evil. Please reconsider your collaboration with the Chinese government, and set yourselves apart as an Internet company that puts human rights and the freedom of information above profit.

(Note: Some of the text here is taken from Reporters Without Borders, please see www.rsf.org.)