Why Google Should Stay Out of China

A decade ago, a group of Internet companies, civil society organizations, academics, and investors launched the Global Network Initiative (GNI), a collaborative effort to promote free expression and protect user privacy on the Internet. Google helped lead this effort and a parallel project devoted to developing a human rights framework for the Internet. In 2010, Google further demonstrated its leadership by making a principled decision to withdraw its search-engine services from China. In a very public way, the company acknowledged the inherent contradiction between Chinese Internet censorship and Google's commitments to its users and the GNI to promote free expression. It was thus disturbing to read recent reports suggesting that Google now is seriously considering re-entering the Chinese market and succumbing to Chinese censorship in exchange for commercial opportunity.