TOUCHDOWN: GOOGLE PULLS OUT OF CHINA

This week's perspective from com.motion:

In the face of such huge opportunity, rarely do we see global businesses make decisions of a scale Google did this week in an effort to “do the right thing,” despite the likely impacts to the bottom line. This week, Google took the bold step of pulling its search business out of China and moving it to Hong Kong in protest of long-imposed censorship requirements. Beyond China, Google has suggested that the Australian government is invasive with its censorship and has made its case to a joint Congressional panel in the United States to consider withholding aid to countries that restrict certain Web sites. In all, this has and will continue to be a long battle, pushing for access to information globally. Time will tell what the impact of Google’s move in China will be, but they have made a difference, at the very least, by drawing global attention to the issue.