Google is threatening to withdraw from China. "Google linked its decision to sophisticated cyberattacks on its
computer systems that it suspected originated in China and that were
aimed, at least in part, at the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights
activists."
These actions open up BIG questions. Can the Internet force totalitarian countries to become more open and more democratic? Will the demand by the Chinese to have full access to the Internet force the government to ease up and allow the public to access to information and enable activists to organize? Will these governments still be able to tightly control their people with the counter pressure of global Internet? If they shut down access to the Internet, will that undermine their economy?
Sam Crane discusses recent academic research on these questions and ends on a pessimistic note. "…politics can sometimes change in
rapid and unexpected ways. I'm just not betting the farm on
significant liberalization or democratization in the very near future." China will simply use other search engines. Therefore, state power wins.
UPDATE: Commentary and lots of links from Jeff Jarvis. And Nicholas Kristof.
Apt. 11d 