Google threat genuine move
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has been the latest to support Google’s threat to pull out of China, sparking anger in Chinese state-run media.
I asked social media commentator and Birmingham City University journalism lecturer, Paul Bradshaw how genuine he thought Google’s move was.
“I think it’s a genuine move, that’s quite obvious by now,” he said.
” If it was a PR move, they would have talked about it and might not have done anything, but they acted very quickly. They’ve been very clear that they feel quite strongly about this, which is quite surprising, considering some of the things they’ve done before.”
Paul said the company was being brave by serving unfiltered search options, which directly challenge its agreement with China. He said Google is, in some ways, honouring on its original aim in China, to unlock information.
“Effectively they’ve got themselves in a position where they can do this, and make more of an impact than if they had of just refused to go into china in the first place,” he said.
“That’s probably a happy result that wasn’t planned in the first palce, but it is certainly convenient now.”
Paul said Chinese internet users may now be more aware of the extent of internet censorship in their country as a result of Google’s protests.
