A Selective Apology: Waiting for More

by Peter Brantley

Google was universal in its policy to illegally scan copyrighted works and make them available via the company’s advertising-funded search engine. No matter the country, the author or the publisher, everyone was treated equally. Scan and search was the mantra for Google, no matter the copyright laws of individual countries worldwide, nor international treaties dictating copyright law between nations.

This blanket approach to the scanning of the world’s books makes Google’s recent apology to the writers’ in China all the more peculiar. On Saturday, Google issued a statement that said, “Through the discussions and communications of recent months, it is our understanding that our communications with Chinese writers have not been good enough. Google is willing to apologize to Chinese writers.” Google also promised that it would scan no more books without authorization from Chinese writers but made no new offers, while expressing a desire to resolve the dispute by March.

The consistency of purpose in the Google Books initiative leaves us waiting for a similar apology to other authors across the globe whether they are from the United States, Canada, France, etc. We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for future statements from Google.