The following is an interesting article that talks about average Chinese citizens working around China’s Internet filters.
Chinese Web Users Plan Tech Workarounds
A funny thing about network security is that people are always working around it. Someone is always trying to hack into a restricted system. With this in mind I would like to present a a contrarian argument about doing business in China. Keep in mind that this is from a guy who believes in treating people with dignity, paying above market rate wages, and creating business and thus jobs in the United States whenever that is possible.
I ask the question: Is it so bad to do business in China as an Internet services company if one must filter content to comply with the government’s rules? Clearly from the above article we see that people have been able to access content outside of China’s filters. Eventually China may decide it is fighting a losing battle and remove its restrictions. However, Google, or any other company, must pursue business in China first, in order to push the boundaries, and gt the Chinese people excited about the web.
I would never condescend to the Chinese people and think that they are clueless about the restrictions put on their Internet. Emigrants from China may occasionally return to family and inform all of their family and friends of what the rest of the world is seeing on the web. Again, the inevitability of an open web in China seems to be sneaking up on the government whether they like it or not.
I argue to you that all of us technology companies should keep pushing the boundaries with communist countries. At a minimum we can introduce the people to new things and help lead them down the road to eventual information freedom. That freedom may never happen, this is a possibility. However if we segment ourselves from these countries,we remove any chance the people have of discovering the freedom that others enjoy.
July 13, 2010
I am seeing more articles lately about protectionist policies in China. As their economy grows they may restrict outside businesses even more. At the risk of eventually losing China as a marketplace I think we need to strive more than ever to market U.S. products and services there.
If I were the Chinese government, I would detach all interfaces from the Internet and “make their own”. They (The Chinese Government) become a Tier 1 provider, the only one in China, and they can control all the access that they want.
The fact that they HAVEN’T done that indicates to me that they want to roll the dice and appear to not look like a totalitarian government. They are very smart to attempt to walk the line.
Always remember, they can always revert and shut down the access points into and out of China. They are figuring out where the internet lives within their philosophy of government and life.
I have to say, I don’t mind them shutting out porn. However I do believe the price of losing freedom of information is too high to pay for that, and therefore we should live with porn and let people choose.
Protect our children (somehow), let them grow up and then choose. Choice is not a dirty word, nor is it inherently bad.
-T-