NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Google and India Test the Limits of Liberty
Google and India Test the Limits of Liberty http://bit.ly/8Wc8jC (Wall Street Journal) This is a fairly lengthy article including considerable interesting details, particularly for persons unfamiliar with the complexities of the situation in India. Arguably, these questions of local laws and censorship (and demands for user data by governments) are among the very thorniest of Internet issues. The more that I've looked at these matters over the years, the more I've become convinced that there's no "one size fits all" solution or generally applicable decision matrix that can be easily applied. In contrast with some Internet sites who seem willing to hand over user data and censor data on the flimsiest of requests, my overall impression is that Google encourages energetic discussion internally of how to deal with these sorts of issues (though this is not necessarily obvious to the casual observer who only sees the end results of such deliberations). While I do not always agree with Google's specific decisions in this realm (and I am particularly uninspired by the continuing lack of routinely effective mechanisms for individuals to obtain help with Google-related issues that affect them personally), I would definitely not categorize Google's actions in any of these spheres as being knee-jerk in nature. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator