Google joins fray to fight global internet censorship

Via an AP story on Wired.com

Google, which hasn’t in the past got too involved in government affairs and advocacy issues, is now joining the fight against the rise of web censorship worldwide. This is an interesting departure, because surely this will inevitably put Google on a collision course with the Chinese government? In the past Google has been careful not to pick a fight with strategic China which prevents users from accessing certain websites.

The online search giant is taking a novel approach to the problem by asking U.S. trade officials to treat Internet restrictions as international trade barriers, similar to other hurdles to global commerce, such as tariffs. Google sees the dramatic increase in government Net censorship, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, as a potential threat to its advertising-driven business model, and wants government officials to consider the issue in economic, rather than just political, terms.

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