Crumb Trail
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June 14, 2005
Subversives

Microsoft has been criticized recently for its cooperation with the Chinese government about censorship of its MSN Spaces product. Yahoo and Google were previously dinged for cooperation.

Users of Microsoft's new China-based Internet portal have been blocked from using the words "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights" in an apparent move by the US software giant to appease Beijing. . .

Yahoo! and Google -- the two most popular Internet search engines -- have already been criticized for cooperating with the Chinese government to censor the Internet.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) earlier said it "deplores the irresponsible policies of United States Internet firms Yahoo! and Google in bowing directly and indirectly to Chinese government demands for censorship".

It has called on the United States to apply the principles of its Global Internet Freedom Act on its private sector's activities in "some of the world's most repressive regimes".

The Global Internet Freedom Act, passed by the US House of Representatives in July 2003, aims to combat online censorship imposed by governments around the world.

In their efforts to conquer the Chinese market, Yahoo! and Google are "making compromises that directly threaten freedom of expression," RSF has said.

Social software and search tools are inherently subversive to totalitarian governments. There's no benefit to the Chinese people to delay access to these tools while grandstanding about nits. Opening China to information flows, even when censored to filter out selected content, is the objective. The rest will follow.

I suspect that all the principals are fully aware of this and so proceed with indifference to critics who fail to grasp the larger issues. Even the Chinese government must be aware of these dynamics. It may be that this is the smartest, fastest way to open China to political freedom in that some of the flare ups and crackdowns may be avoided. Political activists who thrive on destruction and chaos are thwarted somewhat, but social and cultural evolution will proceed any way.

Posted by back40 at 07:41 AM - Politics
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Comments

Once the people of China enter the blogosphere to share recipes ant tales of their cats and children, some of them will develop an understanding of the power of the tools. Nicknonymous persons raising uncomfortable issues about life and politics inside that country will begin popping up on Blogspot. If the censors find means to shut that down, somebody's photos of a local vegetable garden on their sanitized, approved-host blog space are going to contain, steganographically, a Westernist manifesto to be posted for the world to see by someone who might not actually be on the island of Nuavu.

If Micro$oft sells out in order to be the camel's nose under the tent, so be it. My guess is that what M$ gets in return is a change in policy regarding software piracy. This would mean a lot of money for them, and other software companies, and for the overall balance of payments. Such recognition of intellectual property rights would be a point of entry for another camel's nose. Thusly have regimes toppled.

Posted by: triticale at June 14, 2005 07:12 PM PERMALINK

Exactly.

Posted by: back40 at June 14, 2005 07:59 PM PERMALINK

good points, although, re: nicknonymous blogging, maybe not -

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0610/p01s02-woap.html

I'm a Sinoptimist generally, but I feel like we've been generally underestimating the level of determination and capability of the Chinese gov't to control their mediaspace, or at least slow the rate at which they're losing control.

Posted by: John A at June 15, 2005 11:46 AM PERMALINK

One line of analysis distinguishes economic liberty from political liberty to argue that the ChiComs have avoided the mistakes of others, such as the Soviets, by first increasing economic freedom rather than political freedom. The expectation is that the Chinese will arrive at full political and economic freedom before the Russinas, and won't have all the economic and social problems that have plagued the Russians and the deformed x-Soviet Republics. It's an interesting argument because it still isn't clear that things will one day come out well for the x-USSR which tried the reverse and has had such questionable results.

The behavior of Microsoft, Yahoo and Google is consistent with that approach and will hasten the evolution of political freedom by advancing economic freedom and P2P communication. Making these services available quickly, even though it took political concessions, is smart.

Posted by: back40 at June 15, 2005 03:36 PM PERMALINK
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