Google asks India to embrace Internet transparency

[Hafizzz]

Google asks India to embrace Internet transparency - Hindustan Times

Asserting that Internet freedom will help attack corruption, Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has asked India to embrace "transparency and openness" of the web that will have a potentially game-changing impact on governance.


"At Google we believe that in fact the freer a

country's Internet, the better chance that country has of exposing deep-rooted problems and confronting them honestly," Schmidt said in an essay written for the book 'Reimagining India: Unlocking The Potential of Asia's Next Superpower' edited by global consulting firm McKinsey.

"... Will India embrace an open network or a closed one. The political impulse to try to shield people from inflammatory, obscene or defamatory commentary and?images in a country as diverse and often fractious as India is understandable but misplaced," Schmidt said.

He said while India is known for its "freewheeling" democracy and "boisterous" political debate, a Google search of 'India Internet censorship' generates thousands of?hits documenting episodes in recent years of government authorities demanding the closure of websites or dispatching law enforcement officials to intimidate people for posted material deemed to be objectionable.

"These actions are often well-intentioned especially when they are aimed at suppressing ethnic violence. In general though, such policies are misguided and?inimical to India's broader national interests.

"... But trying to control what people say is a losing proposition. It is much better to let good speech overwhelm bad speech, using the kinds of principles that have worked reasonably well on the free and open Internet we enjoy in the US and other developed countries," he said.

Given the progress made by India over the past decade, it is "hard not to be optimistic" about the next 10 years.

"Global success and a vast improvement in living conditions for hundreds of millions of its citizens are within the country's grasp but only if India's leaders invest in the right infrastructure and embrace the transparency and openness of the Internet," he said.
The former Google CEO said it is "no secret" that India is plagued by corruption, which impedes the country's economic progress, frustrates ordinary people's?efforts to advance themselves and seriously infringes on individuals' rights to fair treatment by the authorities.

He argued that Internet freedom will produce information and images that are displeasing and even appalling to many segments of society.

"False accusations and hateful commentary are inevitable if unfortunate components of the Internet mix," he said adding that democratising Internet access has a potentially game-changing impact on governance.

Schmidt said one of the Internet's "great virtues" is that it empowers individuals and groups to expose the excesses and abuses of those in positions of power.

"As the Internet penetrates India...we will see dramatic improvement in the status of women, access to education and the transparency in public life necessary to?improve governance and attack corruption. All of those are necessary preconditions to the economic and commercial success that India's remarkably talented people?deserve."

India's "ambivalence" about Internet freedom often surprises those who do not live, travel or do business in the country since other countries like China are far more famous for exerting command and control over cyberspace, he said.

 

[Cherokee]

But Google will never ask Pakistan to unblock youtube or Anything because

Oh well ,

they don't want Pakistanis killing each other and destroying Pakistani public property .

on the same note how is MillatFacebook doing ?? Did the op join it or not ??

 

[Hafizzz]

India is afraid of Internet freedom (which all Indian users here enjoy).


NEGATIVE NEWS OUT OF INDIA - potential ban on ALL FOREIGNERS
No surrogacy for foreigners: tough new rules planned - Indian Express Mobile

A few articles hit the wires yesterday but the link below is the most disturbing.

For the first time, the Indian press has reported that the Government of India is now also considering a total ban on surrogacy for all foreigners, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation. I have heard these rumors for several years now and knew this was the ultimate game plan but am shocked at how abruptly this scenario has now entered the official discussion. It may very well be that the Indian government is going to rule on this model for once and for all given it is being pressured to do so by so many internal groups and also foreign governments. For a long time, it was understood that Parliament's avoidance of ruling on the Draft Bill was actually a good thing for the surrogacy business because, given the enormous pressure they have been under from social groups, women's groups, nationalists, religious fundamentalists, and foreign governments, it was always believed that Parliament's ruling would have been more restrictive and not more liberalizing as many have believed. People tend to forget that India is an extremely conservative country and surrogacy - in the minds of the ordinary public at least - is considered exploitation against Indian women and an assault on the national pride by many Indians of both sexes and along most caste groups. Adding to this sentiment were some very high profile surrogacy cases by famous Indian actors, which brought this model into the public eye like never before. In one of the cases, the Bollywood couple in question was believed to have used sex selection to complete their family, which is illegal in India. So the negative fallout from that high profile case is still reverberating in the public and, I believe, it was these situations in particular that finally is forcing the hand of the Indian government to consider more restrictive legislation and to act in the near future.

What does this mean for Westerners?

A lot. Especially for straight married couples who have always believed that they would have unfettered access to this model. As we know, singles/gays and unmarried couples who cycled in the past now have embryos and other genetic material trapped in India as the Indian govt won't allow them to use it or remove it outside India. THIS IS THE SITUATION THAT THOSE WHO CURRENTLY QUALIFY NEED TO MONITOR CAREFULLY - because if a complete ban goes into place those who start cycles now, along with those who have frozen embryos, might find themselves in the same situation as gays and singles find themselves currently - without any rights to their genetic property (already paid for mind you) and unable to get the ear of the Indian government to act fairly on the disposition of their residual genetic material.

It's important to keep in mind though that this is just an article by one Indian press orgnization, albeit it is a very legitimate one. Nothing has been passed yet officially and the authenticity of the comments in the article are unknown.

 

[wolfpack]

I don't understand what is your problem? Is that negative news? if India wants to implement Tighter surrogacy rules? Russia recently banned Adoption of Russian kids out of Russia by foreigners.

 

[AnnoyingOrange]

Google should first give this kind of lecture to their own home country.. where every keystroke and every click of mouse is monitored by agencies in the name of Homeland security.

Google asks India to embrace Internet transparency - Hindustan Times

Asserting that Internet freedom will help attack corruption, Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has asked India to embrace "transparency and openness" of the web that will have a potentially game-changing impact on governance.


"At Google we believe that in fact the freer a

country's Internet, the better chance that country has of exposing deep-rooted problems and confronting them honestly," Schmidt said in an essay written for the book 'Reimagining India: Unlocking The Potential of Asia's Next Superpower' edited by global consulting firm McKinsey.

"... Will India embrace an open network or a closed one. The political impulse to try to shield people from inflammatory, obscene or defamatory commentary and?images in a country as diverse and often fractious as India is understandable but misplaced," Schmidt said.

He said while India is known for its "freewheeling" democracy and "boisterous" political debate, a Google search of 'India Internet censorship' generates thousands of?hits documenting episodes in recent years of government authorities demanding the closure of websites or dispatching law enforcement officials to intimidate people for posted material deemed to be objectionable.

"These actions are often well-intentioned especially when they are aimed at suppressing ethnic violence. In general though, such policies are misguided and?inimical to India's broader national interests.

"... But trying to control what people say is a losing proposition. It is much better to let good speech overwhelm bad speech, using the kinds of principles that have worked reasonably well on the free and open Internet we enjoy in the US and other developed countries," he said.

Given the progress made by India over the past decade, it is "hard not to be optimistic" about the next 10 years.

"Global success and a vast improvement in living conditions for hundreds of millions of its citizens are within the country's grasp but only if India's leaders invest in the right infrastructure and embrace the transparency and openness of the Internet," he said.
The former Google CEO said it is "no secret" that India is plagued by corruption, which impedes the country's economic progress, frustrates ordinary people's?efforts to advance themselves and seriously infringes on individuals' rights to fair treatment by the authorities.

He argued that Internet freedom will produce information and images that are displeasing and even appalling to many segments of society.

"False accusations and hateful commentary are inevitable if unfortunate components of the Internet mix," he said adding that democratising Internet access has a potentially game-changing impact on governance.

Schmidt said one of the Internet's "great virtues" is that it empowers individuals and groups to expose the excesses and abuses of those in positions of power.

"As the Internet penetrates India...we will see dramatic improvement in the status of women, access to education and the transparency in public life necessary to?improve governance and attack corruption. All of those are necessary preconditions to the economic and commercial success that India's remarkably talented people?deserve."

India's "ambivalence" about Internet freedom often surprises those who do not live, travel or do business in the country since other countries like China are far more famous for exerting command and control over cyberspace, he said.

 

[Splurgenxs]

Im not hating on Google but there is some truth to the Microsoft's Scroogle campaign.

Nevertheless Google has enough brownie points to make such statements , to agree or disagree is our choice.