This looks lika a good scheme folks to keep certain major search engines from getting too friendly with oppresive regimes.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080227-eu-may-begin-treating-net-censorship-as-a-trade-barrier.htmlThe European Parliament recently passed a proposal to treat Internet censorship by repressive regimes as a trade barrier. The proposal, submitted by Jules Maaten of the rightist Dutch VVD party, passed on a 571-38 vote. Maaten describes it as an "unusual, but effective way" to promote freedom of expression on the Internet.
The initiative targets countries that have enacted heavy restrictions what their citizens can do and see online.
If adopted, Maaten's proposal would require the EU to classify any Internet censorship as a barrier to trade, and would require that the issue be raised in any trade negotiations. Economic sanctions and trade restrictions have been used in the past as means of getting countries to change their policies, but this is one of the first proposals to tie trade to 'Net censorship.
Lets see which one of the helpfully co-operative web search engines will complain first when they them selves get censored and sanctioned for their unethical activities ?
Profit should not trump moral responsibility.
