back to article Schmidt calls China's attempts to take over internet 'egregious'

Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has told an audience in India that China is the worst example of a nation trying to take over and censor the internet. "As the internet has emerged in many of these different countries, there's quite a few countries that have no laws that pertain to the internet at all and those …

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  1. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
    Boffin

    All your thoughts are belong to us.

    Schmidt's new motto.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's about time all you hacks started telling the world the truth, loudly and very publicly. There is no privacy on the internet, there won't ever be again, because it's to easy to collect and coallate information about people. Then use that information for targeted advertising.

    Even being `amanfrrommars` or any other pseudonym you can think of doesn't prevent them from grouping you, and if you really are 'amanfrommars' that group will be a very small one. So they'll gather fairly accurate information for their targeted advertising.

    Joe Bloggs is out there listening to all you hacks reporting that people like Mark, and Eric care about their privacy, when you know damned well they don't.

    1. John Deeb
      Black Helicopters

      Dave: "There is no privacy on the internet, there won't ever be again, because it's to easy to collect and coallate information about people. "

      That doesn't mean we have to facilitate man + dog to access what is being collected and collated about individuals or groups. The cat might be out of the bag now but it might still need spaying....

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I agree with the spirit of your post, but I don't think it's necessarily that easy for them to gather accurate information - unless you willingly allow it by using the same name on different sites or (really dumb from this point of view) sign in with Facebook credentials, or whatever.

      Even where they ought to know something about me, I've found advertising to be anything but targeted.

      Privacy isn't dead, but it's true that Google (in particular) don't half make preserving it a chore.

  3. Quxy
    Facepalm

    Internet *privacy*?

    Eric Schmidt doesn't give a damn about Internet users' privacy, and he's famously said so in as many words.

    As a good American billionare, what bothers him about China is that it's the *government* trying to control the Internet and remove any expectation of privacy, whereas by rights it ought to be big *business* controlling the 'net and *monetising* user privacy, while allowing them to retain the illusion of privacy.

    At least the Chinese government's actions derive from a (IMO misguided) patriarchal notion of what is best for Chinese society, while Schmidt can't even pretend that Google's privacy grab benefits anyone but advertisers and Google shareholders.

    1. Slawek

      Re: Internet *privacy*?

      No, Chinese government's actions do not derive from a "patriarchal notion of what is best for Chinese society", but from desire of Chinese Communist Party to stay in power.

  4. Billl
    Big Brother

    I may not trust Google or any other Corporation...

    but at least they can't arrest me based upon what they perceive as inappropriate, or literally hold a gun to my head. They'll merely try to profit from my depravity. If a corporation is bad, then we at least have a chance of punishing them via the government or lawsuit (courts), while if the government is bad what recourse do we have... especially in a totalitarian government?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I may not trust Google or any other Corporation...

      But they'll fully co-operate with the Police.

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Got balls?

    Schmidt has yours!

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Are any Reg readers also employees of Google?

    I have a question regarding Google Analytics + Ad Tracking.... When you click on a website that uses Google Analytics....The resulting tracking info is fed back into Google's Ad business....TRUE or FALSE...?

    1. Graham Marsden
      Big Brother

      Re: Are any Reg readers also employees of Google?

      I'm not a Google employee and I don't know the answer to your question, but I don't worry either, because I use NoScript and block Google Analytics completely!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Are any Reg readers also employees of Google?

        @Graham Marsden

        Upvoted. But do you know if NoScript is effective against complex tracking....? For example tracking that revives deleted 'zombie' cookies using Flash & ETAGS (cached sessions) as reported regarding Hulu :-

        http://www.adotas.com/2011/08/hulu-caught-respawning-cookies-as-etags-enter-tracking-fray/

        1. Graham Marsden

          @AC Re: Are any Reg readers also employees of Google?

          There's always BeefTaco, Better Privacy, FlashBlock, Ghostery...

  7. Rippy

    Attempts to take over internet 'egregious'

    It's egregious because that's Google's job.

  8. Crazy Operations Guy

    He just wants more countries open so he can get more of our personal information and use it to advertise to us. The soapbox he is standing on is really just a obfuscated pile of bullshit.

  9. Triggerfish

    Pot....

    talks about kettle

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Schmidt can't have my data ..

    .. but I may just put some effort into getting his.

    I'm intrigued that this chap can just uncontrolled waltz in and out of restricted countries. Wasn't there some trivial stuff like becoming a government official via a voting process or export of US technology to worry about?

    Oh, no, wait. It's Google. Rules and laws do not apply..

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A Gift For The Man Who Dismisses Privacy

    Typing "eric schmidt mistresses" into Google seems to do a decent enough job of unveiling the top layer of skeez.

    http://gawker.com/5898921/after-three-mistresses-googles-chairman-still-adores-his-wife

  12. SeymourHolz

    Ironic....

    Kind of a ironic to hear the Chief Patriot Act Enforcer whingeing about bad governments spoiling the internet.

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