Google claims that Internet censorship is the same as international trade barriers

Disagree

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by T. M. Beeker

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Censorship is a moral decision by a government to protect its people. Trade barriers are an economic decisions to protect industry at home. Google should have paid close attention in their political science and economics classes.

To censor something is to prevent its dissemination to the broader viewing public. Its an effort to protect people from information that could potentially cause harm. Google has the First Amendment to thank in the United States for such limited censorship. However, other nations have a right to censor more or less depending upon their moral, political, and social norms. Such censorship is usually the result of political organizations making a moral decision based on traditions, culture, and finally what the people accept. Google needs to pay attention to the fact that morality especially one that pleases universally does not exists. In Saudi Arabia censorship is very strict and allows for little that many in America would think is not risky at all. The fact is a nation has every right to censor as it sees fit based on its own flavor of morality.

A good example is nudity on American television as opposed to on German television. We are very prudish about that in America which makes little sense when sex and violence seem to pour from screens of video games and other visual media. Germans on the other hand will show a fully nude body but not violence or sexual acts. Google, I wish you luck in trying to tie censorship to something universally bad.

Trade barriers while they may be influenced by a nation's moral likes and dislikes often result from cold economic decisions. Japanese motorcycles exists all over the world and have brought home a mountain of money. However, the most popular bike in Japan is the Harley-Davidson. In response import taxes are enormous in addition to the red tape one must wade through to actually get the bike and ride it in Japan. The point is Google misreads censorship as an economic action. Its not, Japanese industry has bought and torn down plenty of Harley models to figure out what the mystique is and try to compete. Hence, all the Harley knock offs you see today as opposed to the 'rice rockets' that were popular up until Harley was resurrected. So the moral question is out the window in favor of 'how do we protect our home motorcycle industry from American bikes?'

Internet censorship is a moral response backed up by political power. Trade barriers are an economic response which uses political power in addition to old fashioned dirty pool. Google should send its public relations and legal gurus to bed without dinner and then back to the drawing board on Monday. Good luck trying to establish an international ban on censorship since most nations can't even agree on a due structure at the United Nations.

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