BREAKING: Google does something truly NON evil !!@!

[Triple Zero]

China, sponsored by the Chinese government

this made sense when I wrote it. honest. I think I meant chinese organisation / people sponsored by the chinese government.

I read through the article, but I'm not sure how you reach the conclusion that Google is "saving their own skin" and more vulnerable to this sort of attack than Microsoft or Yahoo, or any other company in any industry which does business in China. It's hard to imagine Googles global business operations being affected even if China did manage to steal some trade secrets and insider knowledge.

they aren't more vulnerable. but Google already got data stolen. and doing this is a big fuck you to China, I guess, for just trying. I'm not really sure if it would even help against future attacks, but it's not helping anyone else or freedom of speech either. neither do I personally really care whether Google gets its data stolen or not. I suppose "just saving their own skin" is the wrong expression. it's just not as altruistic as they make it seem either. more like a political move disguised as "look at us being all ethical and shit".

[Requia ☣]

I see it more as retaliation, Google gets hacked, probably by the Chinese government given the target data, and Google retaliates by not cooperating with them on the censorship thing.

Chine gets put in a bind, because either people get uncensored searches (even if they can't get to the page) or they ban an extremely popular website and risk making anti censor tech more popular as a result.

I'm betting this ends with Google agreeing to go back to normal after a few months, with an understanding that they do have an ability to hurt China now if there is another attack.

[Triple Zero]

Google treats their China staff that will probably get fired to see "Avatar" 

[Rumckle]

Google threatens their China staff that will probably get fired to see "Avatar" 

How I first read this.

[Triple Zero]

# maddening drumbeats pounding in my head ..
# and the beat goes on ..
# and the beat goes on ..

In order to comply with government search warrants on user data, Google created a backdoor access system into Gmail accounts. This feature is what the Chinese hackers exploited to gain access.

Google's system isn't unique. Democratic governments around the world -- in Sweden, Canada and the UK, for example -- are rushing to pass laws giving their police new powers of Internet surveillance, in many cases requiring communications system providers to redesign products and services they sell.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/23/schneier.google.hacking/index.html

[Captain Utopia]

So Google are evil because they are not a comicbook-style hero of corporations, taking justice into their own hands, circumventing local and international laws, pursuing their own righteous vigilante agenda?

None of my friends concerned about the principles of internet privacy use Google, for the very reason that any data a corporation holds can always be subpoena'd, despite (or perhaps because) of the fact they have nothing to hide.

[Triple Zero]

Is that a reply to the previous post, or ... It's not really making sense to me.

Wait no I get it now, for some reason you think the previous post was attacking google, and for some reason that really eludes me you feel it is necessary to defend it.

But that was not the case, this is a negative thing about the US government, forcing Google to build a backdoor enabling China to hack into the accounts of free speech activists.

I mean, sure, Google is not clean in this, for simply complying with it, but in the first place it's the fault of the US government.

[Cain]

[Triple Zero]

[Rev. St. Syn, KSC (Ret.)]

Firefox says fuck Google, use Bing.

AS IF!!!!1!!!1 Tards. Fuck Firefox use Opera.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I refuse to use a browser that's named after a shit form of music

[Captain Utopia]

Is that a reply to the previous post, or ... It's not really making sense to me.

Wait no I get it now, for some reason you think the previous post was attacking google, and for some reason that really eludes me you feel it is necessary to defend it.

You've stated a strong dislike of Google in the past, and tend to interpret events against their favour.  So yeah, in the absence of a specific commentary to the contrary, I assumed this was more of the same.  My bad.

But that was not the case, this is a negative thing about the US government, forcing Google to build a backdoor enabling China to hack into the accounts of free speech activists.

I mean, sure, Google is not clean in this, for simply complying with it, but in the first place it's the fault of the US government.

I agree completely.

[the last yatto]

so this had nothing to do with google dropping to the 3rd place in Chinese market?

[Cain]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/25/bill-gates-web-censorship-china

Microsoft founder plays down Beijing's attempts to stifle dissent on the internet as 'very limited'

After pouring billions of dollars into the global fight against malaria and rebranding Microsoft in a more cuddly, human way, Bill Gates had just about shaken off accusations that he represented all that was unappealing about aggressive ­American capitalism.

But today his reinvention suffered something of a setback when he played down China's attempts to stifle dissent on the internet as "very limited".

Less than two weeks after Google said it planned to uncensor its Chinese search engine in protest at attempts to break into the email accounts of human rights activists, Gates criticised his rival's decision and insisted that agreeing to Beijing's demands was just part of doing business in the country. "You've got to decide: do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in or not? If not, you may not end up doing business there," he told ABC's Good Morning America programme.

He also brushed aside accusations that Microsoft has been complicit in helping filter the web by saying that it was not an issue because any censorship could be circumvented with technical knowledge. "Chinese efforts to censor the internet have been very limited," he said. "It's easy to go around it, so I think keeping the internet thriving there is very important."

[Triple Zero]

ok well there you have it, at least MS is still no better than Google.