Google has removed its filters on Google.cn, its China portal, due to “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China.” The upshot, of course, is this:

Google’s action and accompanying blog post strongly suggests that they believe the hack was directed by the Chinese government:

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.”

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China.

You could argue that not having a presence in China, even a censored one, would ultimately contribute to the government’s stranglehold on the people, given that the Green Dam and Great Firewall (which, as far as I know, still doesn’t care for yours truly) are still standing tall, but I commend Google’s willingness to take a stand, especially considering the money they could have made in China.

Thanks to BB, Erin, and everyone else who highlighted the story.

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