Your host has previously chronicled the willingness of Google to adjust search results under government pressure. But there's really no special animus towards Google on his part; the point has always been to take aim at people who blather about the importance of free speech until called upon to actually show they mean it.
Therefore, it brings him no pleasure to take note of a story on words censored by MSN in their new Chinese blog hosting site. To quote the story:
Microsoft Corp.'s new MSN China Internet venture is censoring words such as "freedom," "democracy" and "human rights" on its free online journals, Microsoft said on Tuesday, putting itself in the middle of a major Web controversy.
But it gets weirder; this apparently only applies to the subject lines of posts, and not to their bodies:
Words and phrases banned in the subject line of entries for Microsoft's MSN Spaces on Tuesday also included "Taiwan independence" and "demonstration," which returned an error message saying "prohibited language, please remove."
Not even former and current leaders' names such as "Mao Zedong" or "Hu Jintao" were allowed.
Your host has no background in Chinese law, and can't really evaluate the claims of Microsoft managers that they are simply conforming to established regulations (is there really a ban on Mao? Call SC skeptical.). Perhaps they simply rely on pre-compiled word lists, like "political figures", "profanity" and the like.
The Wall Street Journal notes in an editorial today (subscription required) explains the standard defense in these situations:
To be fair to Microsoft, it is not alone. Yahoo! and Google have also caved in to China. Google chose last year to omit sources the Chinese government does not like from its Google News China edition, saying that it didn't make sense to provide a link to sites that would probably be blank anyway. All of these Internet companies make the point that it is better to make a compromise, gain a foothold in China and then offer China's masses the smorgasbord of information that is out there.
However, it concludes with a point which is surprisingly non-obvious to the leadership of Microsoft and Google:
It is admittedly difficult for China's government to block Internet content from its estimated 87 million users, a number that is growing. But it is a lot easier if it has the cooperation of the industry. These corporations might also remember that Beijing needs their business. The Internet is where demand and supply meet these days, and China's leaders need economic growth to continue if they are not to face large-scale upheaval. Certainly the Microsofts and Googles might try to drive a harder bargain.
Amen.
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