Everyone's outraged at our Internet companies doing business in China without somehow single-handedly overturning their Communist government. As though it is business's role to actually affect change in the form of government in their marketplace.
Microsoft was never a fan favorite, and Yahoo has been getting it pretty good lately. For my part, I don't really like Google. "Don't be evil" is a little self-righteous for my taste.
But let's be honest. Before these American companies were doing business in China, nobody knew or cared to know the extent of the censorship that goes on in China. We have learned more about the Chines government's repression in the last few months than we ever wanted to before.
When a company does business in a foreign country, they are generally required to follow local law, not write it. The people complaining should instead be applauding, because there is now a spotlight on the Chinese government's abuses.
So keep it up, American tech giants, you're doing the right thing-- business.
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