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Comment by ManFromUranus | Hacker News Reader

If they censor too much it's "problematic" because they're overreaching and deciding for the people. If they don't censor enough then it's "problematic" because they're culturally insensitive to the local sense of decency, they're imposing western standards or somesuch. They're damned if they do, damned if they don't.

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I think that's BS. They're an American company, providing a product that people can feel free not to use if they're so inclined. They're not imposing western standards; that's like saying McDonald's is "imposing" a western diet by selling hamburgers in Riyadh.

People have absolutely made that argument before.

As examples, look at Kong Qingdong in China and Vladimir Zhirinovsky in Russia. Two of the better known people who like to make these sorts of arguments.

Its called Cultural Imperialism. I'm not saying it makes sense, but you're underestimating human ingenuity for making silly arguments.

A better analogy might be a western outlet which, outside of that country, normally sells something which is considered illegal.

"Damned if they do and damned if they don't" doesn't mean damned by the same parties. They are in hot water with the authorities if they bring in the contraband, and vilified by some of the local users and human rights activists if they don't.

McDonald's customizes their menu in many parts of the world. I'm pretty sure they still don't serve beef or pork anywhere in India.

Correct:

  India is the first country in the world where McDonald's
  does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald's has 
  developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian 
  selections to suit the Indian palate, and has also re-
  engineered its operations to address the special 
  requirements of vegetarians. Special care is taken to 
  ensure that all vegetable products are prepared 
  separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils.

- http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/aboutus.html

They do serve serve chicken though.

What about lamb and goat?

In 1999 I ate a mutton burger in McDonald's in New Delhi. Not lamb but pretty close.

Nope. Although I was not allowed to go to McDonald's when I was a kid, I haven't seen anything with lamb or goat lately.

That's why I think the Tor project is so important.

It gives people within those cultures an ability to access information they're not supposed to be able to, while also helping protect them from those in power.

Yes - I think it'd be great if American companies didn't build the censorship or surveillance infrastructure for these countries and I think it's wrong that American companies enable these governments to do this to their own people, but at least through Tor we can side step the cultural imperialism argument.

Only those who want it will seek it out.

Edit: If you're interested in running a non-exit relay, check out this guide I made - it's pretty easy to do (plus you get a cool shirt after 60 days).

https://tor.stackexchange.com/questions/6567/how-do-i-manual...

American companies also support their own government's efforts to imprison people for visiting the wrong websites (gambling, piracy, child porn, etc). Isn't it a bit arbitrary to accept that in America but not other countries? You may think free political speech is important, but it can cost a lot of lives if it leads to a civil war or widespread riots. Not all countries are stable enough to cope with those risks.

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