My colleagues at the Berkman Center, Rebecca MacKinnon and John Palfrey, have penned an op-ed piece for Newsweek’s international edition called “Censorship Inc.” Takeaway:
If we’re not careful, we may wake up one day to discover that what a person can see and do on the Web will be radically different depending on which country he or she lives in: the Internet will become “The Internets.” And U.S. tech firms won’t have much of value left to sell if the Internet ceases to be the wonderful, world-connecting thing it is today. They must find a way to make their money in China without checking their values at the border. Morality aside, the long-term survival of their industry depends on it.
on Feb 19th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
[…] Rebecca MacKinnon and John Palfrey have their an essay, “Censorship Inc.” in Newsweek on China and the Internet. Dan Gillmor shares his takeaway, here’s mine: An unfettered Internet is an extraordinary tool for activists, helping them grow new networks at virtually no cost. But it’s also true that China has managed to bend the values of U.S. tech companies in ways that could have a significant effect on the evolution of the Internet, not only in China but throughout the world. […]