Google Inc. is looking for help inside the Beltway to fight rising internet censorship worldwide.
They are taking a noble approach to their little situation; they are asking that the government to see internet restrictions as international trade barriers, similar to other hurdles to global commerce, such as tariffs.
There has been a dramatic increase in government web censorship (particularly in Asia and the Middle East) and is seen as a threat to Google’s advertisement-driven business model. Google asks that the problem be seen as an economic, not political, one.
Andrew McLaughlin, the Google’s director of public policy and government affairs, believes that it’s fair to say that censorship is the number one barrier to trade that we face. He has met several times with US Trade Representative officials this year to discuss the issue.
Read [AP]
I'm glad that google is pursuing this, but it seems to me that several governments have a very stubborn attitude to censorship. Still, good luck to them.