This article was published on September 9, 2010

Google: Net censorship is bad for US trade


Google: Net censorship is bad for US trade

Google’s chief Legal Officer David Drummond has put out the call for increased pressure on countries that censor the Internet. However, he has made a case that will likely garner more attention than the “human rights” argument that has existed in the past.

This one is about money, and as Drummond states “Internet censorship is really a trade barrier”.

The subject came up, according to Reuters, in a meeting with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk at the Google HQ.

“If this were happening with physical trade and manufacturing goods, we’d all be saying this violates trade agreements pretty fundamentally.”

While Google has long-since been the victim of censorship in countries such as China and Turkey, the case so far has been played off as being more interested in free access to information rather than looking at financial impact. Drummond’s view on the scenario will likely gather the attention of more businesses, and help to push the cause forward from the US.

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