Following an article about his views on Internet censorship, Google co-founder Sergey Brin issued a clarification. Some believed Brin was equating the “walled gardens” of Facebook and Apple to the Internet censorship of totalitarian regimes.
“So to clarify, I certainly do not think this issue is on a par with government based censorship. Moreover, I have much admiration for two of the companies we discussed — Apple and Facebook. I have always admired Apple’s products,” Brin wrote in a Google+ post.
“Likewise, Facebook has helped to connect hundreds of millions of people, has been a key tool for political expression and has been instrumental to the Arab Spring. Both have made key contributions to the free flow of information around the world,” he added.
Although Brin approved of the original Guardian piece in which he was quoted, it only included a small part of a month-long conversation. Additionally, he suggests secondary reports of the interview did not accurately interpret his comments.
“But regardless of how you feel about digital ecosystems or about Google, please do not take the free and open Internet for granted from government intervention,” Brin wrote. “To the extent that free flow of information threatens the powerful, those in power will seek to suppress it.”
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