I've been following the story about how Google is probably pulling out of the Chinese online market.

I think part of this decision is due to the lack of Google wanting to censor their listings according to the dictates of the Chinese government. I'm sure it also has to do with the fact that Chinese officials give preference to Chinese companies who tow the communist party line.

While researching the topic because of an interest in Google, I also came away from my research with some general thoughts about the internet.

My first thought is that I am glad that I live in a free society where anyone has the right to publish a website and pretty much say or do whatever they want. We have laws against certain online activities, but in general, the internet is an open market with open conversations going on. This is good for ourt market and for our democracy.

Second, it made me think that if there is a threat to the open internet, it probably doesn't come from the government as it does in China. I don't think the American government could ever get away with a major censoring of the internet. Americans are used to an open internet.

The threat, if there is one in the United States, probably comes most from corporations. A lot of large media corporations have gotten rich by owning many of the channels we can see on cable television. This monopoly over what we see on television is coming to an end. Soon, we will be able to accesss the internet on our television screens. This means that instead of only being able to access the three news or music or history channels on cable television, we will be able to access millions fo news, music, and history sites.

The major media corporations don't like this at all. They have been trying to devise a way to make the internet a similar walled area where only their channels can be accessed, but people won't allow it to happen.

It is still a threat, but not a very big one. People all over the country are making websites and finding out how easy it is to broadcast their site/info/video/etc through the internet.

Another threat I could see is if Google were to start taking bribes and promoting sites in the search engine that pay the most money. One, I don't see this happening since they sorta have an outlet for this in their advertising program and Google knows that people will revolt against their service if they start only finding sites from the highest bidder instead of finding the best sites no matter who is publishing them.

Basically, I'm really glad I don't live in China and I really enjoy the ability to publish and participate freely on the internet.