Google, as one of the most powerful companies in the world, has an obligation, and a tremendous opportunity, to be a force upholding the right to free speech that we take for granted in this country.

In an awful step backward, however, they have agreed to remove videos on YouTube that maligned a Turkish icon and got them banned from that country .

This after censoring itself for Chinese consumption, the pattern is pretty clear: Google’s prepared to compromise free speech for its own benefit.

More than that, Google supports the repression of humans for its own short-term benefit. As the Human Rights Watch reports:

Journalists, bloggers, webmasters, writers, and editors who sent news out of China or who even debated among themselves about Tibet, Taiwan, and human rights, among other subjects, have faced punishments ranging from sudden unemployment to long prison terms.

I contend that with a more creative, imaginative approach, Google could actually reap a greater benefit for themselves and an unprecedented benefit for humanity.

One of the pillars of censorship used by repressive regimes is the cooperation of major Internet companies like Google.

With that support removed, and strategic support of “hacktavists” to provide encrypted, unfettered internet access, Google could be a major force to catalyze further Velvet Revolutions.