Google says its decision to make the services available is to improve Internet freedom. “Our products are specifically designed to help people create, communicate, share opinions and find information,” said Neil Martin, Google’s export compliance programs manager, in a blog post last Tuesday. “We believe that more available products means more choice, more freedom, and ultimately more power for individuals in Iran and across the globe.”
The company said the release of programs such as these is needed because of the major role many feel that Internet sites such as Twitter and Google-owned Youtube played in the advancement of the opposition movement after the 2009 presidential elections in Iran.
Some analysts, however, have said these products will not lead to a people’s revolution, with Kelly Fiveash of The Register, which discusses information technology, noting, “The Mountain View Chocolate Factory [i.e., Google] followed its commitment-to-sanctions message with more sugar-coating about “choice,” “freedom” and “power” for Iranians, the world, and—perhaps most importantly—Google.”
These three products being made available in Iran are not direct communication tools and thus may seem useless to revolutionary activities. But Google argues that, by allowing for expression, they can play a part.
Picasa allows users to share photos, with labeled people and places, in online albums while also allowing for some editing and creativity similar to Photoshop. Google spokesman Scott Rubin told the BBC that “in a country with a history of government surveillance it is useful having a browser [like Chrome] that can’t easily be hacked.” As for Google Earth, “There are many activist layers.… Anyone can create a layer to show exactly what is going on in Iran.”
Rubin added that the satellite imagery of Google Earth was used in Sudan to depict areas of unrest during the elections. Interestingly, Google restricts all downloads in Sudan, as well as Cuba, North Korea and Syria, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Google did not comment on why it took the company 10 months after the Obama Administration loosened sanctions on such exports to make Chrome, Picasa and Google Earth available in Iran. Perhaps, the formal export licenses from the US Department of Treasury were only recently confirmed, but no information about the timing was released.
The company did say that, “As a condition of our export licenses from the Treasury Department, we will continue to block IP addresses associated with government computers.” However, critics have noted that Iranian officials could still access the services from other computers.
According to the Los Angeles Times, other Google products such as AdSense and AdWords, which provide advertising via Google’s search engine, and Google Checkout, which is a tool for online shopping, will still not be available in Iran. The company has been particularly criticized for not offering Google Chat, its instant-messaging product, and Google Voice, its calling service. The company said that is because it cannot yet guarantee that the government will not be able to breach the security and privacy of users.
“It’s a balancing act between providing information but doing it in a way that doesn’t compromise people’s safety,” Rubin told the Voice of America.