IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Internet Companies and the Great Firewall of China: Google's Choices

Internet Companies and the Great Firewall of China: Google's Choices
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Richard A. Spinello (Boston College, USA)
Copyright: 2015
Pages: 16
Source title: Human Rights and Ethics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Information Resources Management Association (USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6433-3.ch063

Purchase

View Internet Companies and the Great Firewall of China: Google's Choices on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

This chapter, focusing primarily on the search engine company Google, considers the problems Internet companies have confronted in adapting to the strict censorship regime in China, which is executed with the help of its “great firewall.” Google initially decided to comply with that regime but later changed its mind to the detriment of its whole China strategy. Companies like Yahoo and Microsoft have encountered similar problems in China, while social media firms like Twitter have avoided the Chinese market because of these issues. The moral analysis concludes that a socially responsible company must not cooperate with the implementation of the censorship regimes of these authoritarian sovereignties. This conclusion is based on natural law reasoning and on the moral salience that must be given to the ideal of universal human rights, including the natural right of free expression.

Related Content

Siraj Kariyilaparambu Kunjumuhammed. © 2026. 28 pages.
Abel Jacob, Abhinav Kataria, Pankaj Dhaundiyal. © 2026. 28 pages.
Siraj Kariyilaparambu Kunjumuhammed. © 2026. 26 pages.
Antonio Pesqueira, Dora Almeida. © 2026. 28 pages.
Shanmuga Pria, Iman Al Rubaie, Venkata vara Prasad. © 2026. 24 pages.
Devender K, Kafila M, Geetha Manoharan. © 2026. 18 pages.
Terezin Mathew, Roshna Varghese, K Latha. © 2026. 36 pages.
Body Bottom