Tuesday saw the announcement of a new competitor in the increasingly crowded internet search field. The launch of Accoona (from "accoona matata" or "no worries," a phrase made popular by Disney's Lion King), complete with an appearance by former president Bill Clinton. The company had previously donated an undisclosed amount to the William J. Clinton Foundation. Technologically, the company promises a new search experience fueled by artificial intelligence software. Unfortunately, any technological improvements Accoona brings to the industry has been obscured by the company's association with the Chinese government, one of its larger financial backers. Accoona also has a twenty year exclusive partnership with China Daily Information Company, the government agency that runs official Chinese and English websites for the government.
Chinese censorship has been a hot topic lately, particularly in relation to search. Reports surfaced in September that Google's news search service was censoring stories from the results when the page was accessed from a computer in China. A Google representative later confirmed the essence of the report, stating that they did not filter the news, but would not return links to sites that are unavailable within China due to dead links. While internet denizens were largely shocked by the revelation, the reality is that Google is a multinational corporation trying to tap into one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, regardless of the heroic, almost biblical status often accorded Google by their worshiping throng of internet geeks. The People's Republic was later accused of blocking access to the English version of the Google News site in an effort to force users to use the localized (censored) version. The site was unavailable for at least ten days, and the official comment was limited to a statement by Google that they were aware of the problem and were investigating the causes. Censorship isn't limited to internet news either. China also banned a soccer game that depicts Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Tibet as independent countries. China has threatened web sites that supply the game with fines of up to 10,000 yuan, and Cybercafes that allow patrons to download the title with fines of up to 15,000 yuan, or about $1,800.
Of course, censorship isn't a Chinese phenomenon. Iran has arrested five webloggers in the past two months. The first three were arrested on October 29, with the others arrested in November. They were arrested following postings critical of the government. One was arrested after repeated postings exposing harrassment in the city by members of the conservative movement. Two of his brothers were arrested earlier according to reports.
Even Americans suffer from censorship of a different sort. Sensitive news, such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, get an airing in Europe and Canada before American publications pick up the story. Political correctness also restrains the news Americans get, with publications choosing softer language over hard facts to please sensitive audiences. Despite access to world-wide news sources over the internet, many Americans still wear the blinders of mainstream news sources. Weblogs offer an increasingly popular source of alternative news, covering such underreported events as the arrest of two third-party presidential candidates at the second debate, and exposing a Bush service memo as an obvious fake, but they suffer from problems of credibility. Their most vocal detractors, such as CBS in a recent online posting, have also been ridiculed for poor journalism recently as well, but it still leaves readers left to fend for themselves.