Professor Chander Publishes Op-Ed on China and Internet in SF Chronicle
Professor Anupam Chander published an essay, "China Road: Which is the Right Path?" in the Sunday Insight section of the January 24 San Francisco Chronicle. The op-ed examines the different approaches taken by American internet companies Google and Microsoft with regard to doing business in China, where the government has required them to restrict access to politically sensitive information.
With Google declaring that it will discontinue doing business in China rather than participate in censorship and Microsoft announcing plans to stay, Professor Chander examines the potential consequences of their actions, concluding that the failure to provide a unified front against censorship amounted to a missed opportunity to use internet technology to promote human rights.
"Imagine if Western Internet companies had put on a united front as they faced the ‘Great Firewall' of China," writes Professor Chander. "If they all took the high road, perhaps they might have scaled that wall. After all, the Chinese government can ill afford to hobble access to the global Internet if it hopes to take its rightful place as a world leader in business and art."