Today, Google is testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law to address internet freedom and censorship, particularly calling attention to the recent security and censorship issues in both China and Iran. Google’s Deputy General Counsel Nicole Wong is presenting testimony on behalf of the search giant, which we’ve embedded below.
Much of the testimony outlines the background on what happened in the China security breach, where the Gmail accounts of human rights activists were breached by hackers in China. The attacks were systematic and also extended to 20 other companies, including Intel. Google is unwilling to shed light on who initiated the attacks because the investigation is ongoing.
Of course, Google has dealt with censorship and security issues with many countries in past. Wong says that over 25 governments have blocked Google services in the past. YouTube has been blocked by 13 countries including Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Blogger and Blog Spot have been blocked by India, Pakistan, and Spain. Gmail was recently banned in Iran. And Orkut has been blocked by Iran and Saudi Arabia.
You can watch the hearing live here.
Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...
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