It's been a long time since I last blogged, and I'm sure there are many good reasons for that.
In any event, I've been paying attention to the fuss over the internet community and search giants' efforts to come to terms with the government of the PRC. I don't want address the issue of the extent to which Google, Yahoo!, or Microsoft should cooperate with the PRC's efforts to limit the information available to its citizens, or to identify those who use the internet in ways the government doesn't like. I don't think I have anything new to say, and besides, I don't want my poorly-thought-out comments to be held against my employer, either way.
It does seem, though, that Google is trying to have it both ways. Google is willing to limit its search results in China according to the dictates of the government. At the same time, it is keeping data about user searches on servers that are beyond the PRC's jurisdiction:
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?
a=15927&hed=Google+Moves+Files+from+China§or=
Industries&subsector=InternetAndServices
In theory, that should work. I doubt that a US court would enforce a PRC court order demanding search records of political dissidents, probably finding that such an order is inconsistent with US public policy. That said, if the PRC asserted its demand strongly enough, perhaps threatening to limit (or stop) Google's operations in China, would Google still resist? I don't think the scenario is entirely unrealistic, and it is hard to make predictions, especially about the future.
Back in 1996, Seymour Goodman and I wrote an article for the Communications of the ACM, suggesting that modern states might be able to bootstrap their sovereignty over their physical territory into control over cyberspace. The piece is definitely dated, and some of it is a bit silly, but it's reprinted here:http://som.csudh.edu/fac/lpress/devnat/general/bigbro.htm