Here’s a little story that won’t get much traction in the media, but intrepid bloggers should be aware.
Google is up to nothing good and is willingly participating in censorship. And this story is not based abroad, such as the sorry ‘Google censors itself for China’-story.
Leading internet company Google has said it will censor its search services in China in order to gain greater access to China’s fast-growing market.
Google has offered a Chinese-language version of its search engine for years but users have been frustrated by government blocks on the site.
The company is setting up a new site – Google.cn – which it will censor itself to satisfy the authorities in Beijing.
This time, it is happening right here in the US and Google is treading on thin ice with regards to freedom of expression.
Some BT-readers may recall my entry from last week Bush cronies dumped – create scandal elsewhere!
The main sources for that entry were posts about scandals at the UN at the site Inner City Press.
Inner City Press (ICP) is now being boycotted by Google! Talk about David against Goliath. At a recent press conference at the UN, ICP asked Google some tough questions, with the following outcome:
Google, after being publicly questioned at the UN about not signing on to the human rights and anti-censorship principles of the Global Compact, responded not by joining the Compact and foreswearing from censorship but by moving to de-list from its Google News service the media organization which raised the question.
Google justifies its actions by stating that it has received ‘complaints’ on the coverage provided by Inner City Press. And it is not difficult to surmise how this was all concocted. ICP has been a thorn in the side for UN officials at the most senior levels for some time. They are tirelessly asking the tough questions of politicians and diplomats at the UN that few, or no one else will. The UN has a stated policy of transparency in its administrative affairs, but the reality is that executives and senior officials act with impunity as if rules do not apply to them. Responses are routinely misleading, or pure obfuscation and the culprits are rarely, if ever, held to account. But lately, there has been a rush of whistleblowers coming forward, as well as a multitude of regular staff that leak sensitive and embarrassing documentation to ICP and UNDP Watch.
These senior managers and executives will willingly collude with Google to create an impression of ‘improper coverage’ by ICP and subsequent banning from Google News. It would not be surprising if this banning from Google news in turn is used by the UN to remove ICP’s accreditation. After all, we do live in a Kafkaesque world.
What the story signifies is really something much bigger. There is a brutal battle going on; staff at the UN and its various agencies are sick and tired of covering up for incompetent and unethical managers. More and more information is being leaked to the blogs mentioned here; management hits back with the usual methods – intimidation, ostracizion and discreditation.
You will all recall the nasty fight at the World Bank last year – Paul Wolfowitz eventually had to leave because of his blatant cronyism. And it was the World Bank staff that made it all possible. It will be interesting to see who will prevail at the UN, right now, it looks as the lid is about to blow off a pressure boiler; a bad sign for the managers.
So, how does Google want to be perceived? The company that colludes to protect unethical UN managers and Chinese authorities’ lacking respect for human rights? Or a company with a reasonable social conscience?
You could let them know your opinion here
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Here’s what the Government Accountability Project released in a statement today:
(Washington, D.C.) – Internet goliath Google has discontinued listing stories from Inner City Press, a United Nations-focused media organization, through its Google News program. The move comes after an Inner City Press staffer reportedly questioned Google regarding its failure to sign a human rights and anti-censorship agreement. Inner City Press is the most effective and important media organization for UN whistleblowers, according to Bea Edwards, International Program director of the Government Accountability Project.
Inner City Press has been an accredited news organization at the United Nations since December 2005 and has been listed on Google News search results for over two years. It is also accredited, according to its web site, at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and Federal Communications Commission, among other government agencies.
[…]
Over the course of the past year, as management at the United Nations has stepped back from providing whistleblowers with protection from retaliation, Inner City Press has reported the arcane tactics of silencing the free speech of employees of conscience in the UN system. Current whistleblower protections at the UN are grossly inadequate. Several agencies within the international body have claimed that they are not subject to the ethical standards established by the UN Ethics Office, citing jurisdictional technicalities. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently issued a bulletin concerning whistleblower rights that simply complicated and confused the issue, creating an entirely new level of bureaucratic dispute, delay, cost and inefficiency for those who report corruption in UN operations and suffer retaliation as a result.
In an email sent to Inner City Press, Google stated the following:
“We periodically review news sources, particularly following user complaints, to ensure Google News offers a high quality experience for our users. When we reviewed your site we’ve found that we can no longer include it in Google News.”
“Google’s reference to `user complaints’ is disturbing,” said Edwards. “We can’t help wondering who is complaining about Inner City Press. Considering their continuing coverage of U.N. whistleblower issues, it’s not too difficult to venture a guess.”
One key story that has been covered by Inner City Press has been the continuing controversy surrounding corruption, fraud and abuse of authority at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). During 2007, GAP received allegations from four UNDP whistleblowers who had been subjected to retaliation as UNDP management sought to destroy the careers of people who exposed serious misconduct.
[…]
Google is on the wrong side of this case and better get it right soon!