Magee: Google makes a bold stand against China's government

The world is rapidly changing. For evidence one need only look at last week's news that Google is threatening to pull out of China if the government there does not stop censoring Internet information.

Big American businesses have been bowing down to communist China to do business in the country for years. To gain access to China's burgeoning economy, it's been a case of either doing it their way or no way at all. Once in, most companies have been uninterested in challenging government constraints and losing lucrative growth opportunities.

Finally, one business has made a stand, but it wasn't a big automaker or another traditionally powerful manufacturing business. It was Google, the American Internet-based company.

To controlling governments, search engines, which provide unlimited informational possibilities, are a threat. When engaged without restriction, they become a transformative gateway to ideas from around the world.

China's communist government understands this and often manipulates Internet availability so its people don't get big ideas from the Web -- big ideas that might suggest things could be done differently.

Welcome to the 21st century, where unrestricted Internet search engines are weapons on behalf of freedom.

Citizens in China can have all the latest gadgets from smart phones to laptop computers. The government even facilitates this effort, since communication fosters education, which in turn speeds economic development. Chinese citizens can't, however, use those gadgets to fully explore the information available on the Web.

Google made a big stand, suggesting it may pull operations out of China if the government does not ease or do away with search-engine censorship.

Though I use Google daily for research, I've not always been a fan of the company's tactics, particularly in regard to copyrighted material. But I applaud its challenge to the Chinese government, since if China ably can serve the world as a powerful economy, its people need a diversity of thought.

That can come with unrestricted access to that simple but powerful search engine.

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