Ever since I moved back to India after several decades in the United States, I've had a growing sense that Google discriminates against its clientele here.
Just as it worked with the Chinese government to censor the availability of information to the unfortunate citizens of that country, I think we are getting a screened access to the Worldwide Web. I doubt if this is at the request of the Indian government, so the conclusion is unavoidable that the corporation is doing this on its own, or at the request of some other power structure to which it is obedient.
After my last post predicting the current economic crisis, my searches have been even further circumscribed. Most links I click on in my gmail simply refuse to open. A curt message box tells me Internet Explorer has aborted the attempt to open the site.
If India is to maintain its political independence and freedom of action, it is essential that its citizens have untrammeled access to information. We should follow the Chinese example and set up our own search engine.
P.S. After posting this item I noticed that the "Google Buzz" icon that used to appear along with the Twitter and Facebook buttons at the end of each post had disappeared. Talk about information management!
Just as it worked with the Chinese government to censor the availability of information to the unfortunate citizens of that country, I think we are getting a screened access to the Worldwide Web. I doubt if this is at the request of the Indian government, so the conclusion is unavoidable that the corporation is doing this on its own, or at the request of some other power structure to which it is obedient.
After my last post predicting the current economic crisis, my searches have been even further circumscribed. Most links I click on in my gmail simply refuse to open. A curt message box tells me Internet Explorer has aborted the attempt to open the site.
If India is to maintain its political independence and freedom of action, it is essential that its citizens have untrammeled access to information. We should follow the Chinese example and set up our own search engine.
P.S. After posting this item I noticed that the "Google Buzz" icon that used to appear along with the Twitter and Facebook buttons at the end of each post had disappeared. Talk about information management!
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