Monday, October 04, 2010

Google Tracking International Government Censorship

Last week BBC reported on a new Google resource that maps online censorship, displaying the frequency different national governments requested information about web users and censor online services.



http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/governmentrequests/

Information on China (as Slashdot points out) is conspicuously absent. This is an interesting development as Google has increasingly come under criticism for handing over information about users to governments and cooperating with China's desire to heavily censor what online content is available to it's citizens.

What do you think about Google's online practices and the way they deal with censor-heavy nations like China? As online information and what users do on social networking sites and read online becomes increasingly available for scrutiny what responsibilities do companies like Google, governments and international organization have to internet users?

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