In The News

In Digital Combat, U.S. Finds No Easy Deterrent

John Markoff, David E. Sanger, and Thom Shanker January 27, 2010
When considering the prospect of a cyberterrorism, defense officials are forced to acknowledge that the enemy holds the cards of “stealth, anonymity and unpredictability.” Even if the general location of an attack’s origin can be determined, it is practically impossible to discover whether it was commercially, politically, or individually motivated. As such, it is difficult to say when a military...

Hungry for New Content, Google Tries to Grow Its Own in Africa

Noam Cohen January 26, 2010
Google grew because it had the best search engine and content to be found. To continue to grow, Google needs to locate and provide more searchable information. Nowhere is this more evident than in Africa, where Google struggles to find online content. Consequently, the company has sponsored a contest to encourage students in Tanzania and Kenya to create articles for Wikipedia in Swahili, a second...

The Internet: A Missing Link

Kathrin Hille January 22, 2010
Despite predictions that its spread would bring Chinese society more in tune with the West, the Internet in China “is growing less like the Internet in the rest of the world, not more like it.” Because Western companies like Google, hoping to foster freedom through information, fail to account for Chinese tastes, such as an affinity for playing online games rather than looking for news by...

China and Google: Searching for Trouble – Part II

Jeffrey Garten January 21, 2010
The China-Google tussle is about two visions of the future, according to international trade and finance professor Jeffrey Garten. It is about openness and globalization vs. stability and nationalism. For China, the desire is to continue to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty; if such a goal entails national stability, requiring control of the internet, so be it. To Westerners, who...

Software Makers See a Market in Censorship

Dan Levin January 19, 2010
Google may be considering pulling out from China but makers of software that allow Internet users to circumvent censorship are finding their business improving. Individuals in countries as diverse as China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, even Australia – all of which ban or censor Internet sites to some degree – want the freedom to explore the online world. Virtual private networks (VPN), which...

China and Google: “Illegal Flower Tribute”

Evan Osnos January 14, 2010
The news that Google will offer uncensored searches in China at the risk of being shut down has caused a stir in China despite the government's efforts to restrict coverage of the story. The response by state-backed media has been predictably critical of Google, even alleging ulterior motives for its actions. Yet, as New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos posts from Beijing, the “savviest” Web...

Google Threat Jolts Chinese Internet Industry

Loretta Chao, Aaron Back January 13, 2010
Google’s decision to start offering uncensored searches in China at the risk of being barred from the country is likely to have broad repercussions. Google announced its decision as a result of cyber attacks, some of which sought to compromise Google’s Gmail accounts of human rights activists. Politically, the move could add further tension to the US-China relationship, as the attacks were...