[ NNSquad ] Re: Google commentary in WashPost on Open Internet and Google's new "Government Requests Transparency Tool"

[Barry Gold <BarryDGold@ca.rr.com>]

Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> Google commentary in WashPost on Open Internet and Google's 
> new "Government Requests Transparency Tool"
>
> http://bit.ly/ciMRnD  (Washington Post)
>
> "Unless companies, governments and individuals do something, the
>  Internet we know is likely to become ever more restricted -- taking
>  choice and control away from users and putting more power in the
>  hands of those who would limit access to information."
>
> ...
>
> "We at Google believe that greater transparency will lead to less
>  censorship online. That's why we are launching a tool that will give
>  people information about the government requests for content removal
>  and user data that Google receives from around the world":
>
> http://bit.ly/dCOlGC  (Google Government Requests)

Kudos to Google for helping to keep these matters transparent.  And I 
hope they will find a useful way to present more details (as discussed 
in their FAQ page on the subject).

  [ Even when Google was participating in the Chinese censorship
    regime, Google always indicated when government censorship
    demands resulted in items "missing" from search results.

    Secret Censorship is virtually always worse than "simple"
    censorship.  If you don't know what's missing, it's much harder
    to understand how you're being manipulated by (for example)
    government authorities, and you're much less likely to complain,
    of course.

    Remember "Double Secret Probation" from "Animal House"?  Secrecy
    of that sort -- and Secret Censorship -- are among the most
    powerful tools in tyrants' arsenals.  Google's efforts to
    bring some degree of transparency to government censorship
    demands is indeed noteworthy and should be widely supported.

    -- Lauren Weinstein
       NNSquad Moderator ]